Mycoplasma vaccines and uses thereof

ABSTRACT

Immunogenic proteins comprising  Mycoplasma mycoides  subsp.  mycoides  and  M. mycoides  subsp.  capri  proteins, encoding polynucleotides, a method for producing said proteins, and use of compositions to prevent  M. mycoides  subsp.  mycoides  infections are disclosed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention pertains generally to immunogenic compositions and methods for treating and/or preventing Mycoplasma infection. In particular, the invention relates to the use of multiple Mycoplasma antigens in subunit vaccine compositions to elicit immune responses against Mycoplasma infections such as contagious bovine pleuropneumonia.

BACKGROUND

Mycoplasma, belonging to the class Mollicutes, is a bacterium that lacks a cell wall and causes a number of diseases in humans, livestock, domestic animals and birds. Mycoplasma diseases cause serious illness in humans and other animals and also result in severe economic losses to the food industry.

For example, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) is a highly communicable lung disease in cattle caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides (Mmm), previously specified as biotype small colony (Mmm SC) (Manso-Silvan et al., International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology (2009) 59:1353-1358). Currently, the disease is a major constraint to cattle production in Africa causing severe socio-economic consequences. For example, CBPP is included in the Office International des Epizooties (O.I.E.) reportable diseases and hence affected countries are excluded from international trade of live animals and embryos.

Many countries have successfully eradicated the disease by employing a combination of test, slaughter and vaccination. Historically CBPP was eradicated by eliminating the whole cattle herd wherever the disease was detected i.e. stamping-out. This strategy, however, does not prove realistic in some countries where it is considered too costly and logistically difficult to apply. Stamping-out is also problematic because CBPP occurs among pastoral communities where movement control is difficult to implement. Therefore, extensive vaccination programs remain the only viable option for CBPP control in Africa (Windsor, R. S., Annals of the New York Academy of Science, (2000) 916:326-332; March, J. B., Vaccine (2004) 22:4358-4364).

Vaccines against CBPP have included live attenuated strains of Mmm, such as V5, KH3J, T1/44 and its streptomycin-resistant derivative T1/SR. Although these vaccines confer some level of protection, they are constrained by low potency and efficacy (Karst, O., Research in Veterinary Science (1971) 12:18-22; Masiga et al., Reviews of Science and Technology Office of International Epizootics (1995) 14:611-620; Tulasne et al., Reviews of Science and Technology Office of International Epizootics (1996) 15:1373-1396; Nicholas et al., Veterinary Bulletin (2000) 70:827-838; Thiaucourt et al., Annals of the New York Academy of Science (2000) 916:71-80). Additionally, these vaccines are known to cause severe adverse effects post-vaccination (Daleel, E. E., Bulletin of Epizootic Diseases in Africa (1971) 20:199-202; Revell, S. G., Tropical Animal Health and Production (1973) 5:246-52; Provost et al., Reviews of Science and Technology Office of International Epizootics (1987) 6:625-679) and induce short-term immunity, one year or less (Egwu et al., Veterinary Bulletin (1996) 66:875-888. Thus, annual vaccination is necessary to achieve a sufficient level of protection (Thiaucourt et al., Annals of the New York Academy of Science (2000) 916:71-80).

A number of recombinant proteins from Mmm have been tested for their capacity to induce protection. It is known that variable surface proteins may enhance colonization of lung and may be differentially expressed between cultured or in vivo organisms. However, a combination of five variable surface proteins from Mmm did not provide protection against CBPP (Hamsten et al., Clinical and Vaccine Immunology (2010) 17:853-86). Another membrane protein, trans-membrane L-α-glycerol-3-phosphate oxidase (GlpO) was used to immunize cattle, but no protection was observed (Mulongo et al., Vaccine (2013) 31:5020-5025). Similarly, animals immunized against Lipoprotein Q (LppQ) were not protected, but exhibited significantly enhanced post-challenge pathology (Mulongo et al., Infect. Immun. (2015) 83:1992-2000).

However, the use of Mycoplasma proteins and nucleic acids as described herein in vaccine compositions has not heretofore been suggested. It is clear there remains an urgent need for the development of effective strategies for the treatment and prevention of Mycoplasma infection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is based on the discovery of Mycoplasma proteins for use in subunit vaccine compositions that stimulate humoral, cellular and/or protective immune responses in animals and humans. A systematic approach was used to identify such proteins. In particular, reverse vaccinology was employed in which M. mycoides proteins were prioritized for their likelihood to protect against disease using bioinformatics and reactivity with antisera from infected cattle. The prioritized proteins were then tested for their capacity to induce antibody and proliferation reactions. A multitude of recombinant proteins that were identified as most likely to be immunogenic were used to immunize animals and humoral and cellular immune responses were quantified. Additionally, animals were challenged with the M. mycoides proteins to reveal protective antigens against contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP).

Thus, the Mycoplasma compositions described herein are useful for the treatment and/or prevention of various Mycoplasma infections, including CBPP. Such compositions can reduce the prevalence of Mycoplasma diseases which can lead to life threatening infections in humans and non-human animals and provide safer and more effective subunit vaccines.

Accordingly, the invention is directed to isolated, immunogenic Mycoplasma proteins, fusions of one or more of these proteins, or conjugates of these proteins with immunogenic carriers and compositions comprising the same.

In one embodiment, the immunogenic Mycoplasma protein is selected from: (a) a fusion protein comprising two or more M. mycoides proteins selected from M. mycoides subsp. mycoides (Mmm) and M. mycoides subsp. capri (Mmc) proteins (b) an Mmm or Mmc protein or fusion protein conjugated with an immunogenic carrier; (c) variants of the proteins of (a) and (b); or (d) a protein corresponding to (a) or (b) from another Mycoplasma strain, species or subspecies. In certain embodiments, the Mmm and Mmc protein or fusion protein comprises an Mmm and/or an Mmc protein listed in Table 1 or Table 4, variants thereof, or the corresponding proteins from another Mycoplasma strain, species or subspecies.

In additional embodiments, the immunogenic protein or fusion protein comprises (a) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NOS:2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 or 28; (b) an Mmm protein present in the fusion of SEQ ID NO:75; (c) an Mmm protein present in the fusion of SEQ ID NO:77; (d) variants of (a), (b) and (c); or (e) the corresponding protein from another Mycoplasma strain, species or subspecies.

In certain embodiments, the fusion protein is selected from: (a) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:51; (b) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:53; (c) a protein comprising amino acids 927-1421 of SEQ ID NO:75; (d) a protein comprising amino acids 927-1468 of SEQ ID NO:77; (e) variants of (a), (b), (c) and (d); or (f) a fusion protein comprising proteins corresponding to (a), (b), (c) and (d) from another Mycoplasma strain, species or subspecies.

In additional embodiments, the Mmm or Mmc protein conjugated with a carrier comprises the amino acid sequence of an Mmm or Mmc protein listed in Table 4. In certain embodiments, the carrier is an RTX toxin, such as a detoxified leukotoxin molecule. In certain embodiments, the amino acid sequence of the protein conjugate comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NOS:55, 57, 59, 61, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79 or 81, or a variant thereof.

In further embodiments, a composition is provided that comprises at least one immunogenic protein as described above, and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.

In other embodiments, a composition is provided that comprises at least two immunogenic Mmm and/or Mmc proteins selected from the Mmm and Mmc proteins listed in Tables 1 and 4, immunogenic fragments or variants thereof, or the corresponding Mycoplasma proteins from another Mycoplasma strain, species or subspecies, and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.

In certain embodiments, the Mycoplasma proteins of the composition are selected from two or more proteins comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOS:2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28; a protein comprising amino acids 927-1421 of SEQ ID NO:75; a protein comprising amino acids 927-1468 of SEQ ID NO:77; or variants thereof.

In additional embodiments, the composition comprises three to five Mycoplasma proteins, such as four or five Mycoplasma proteins. In certain embodiments, at least one of the proteins is selected from SEQ ID NOS:2, 4, 6, 8 or 10; or SEQ ID NOS:12, 14, 16, 18 or 20; or SEQ ID NOS:22, 24, 26 or 28.

In further embodiments, the two or more proteins in the composition are provided as a fusion protein.

In yet additional embodiments, the one or more of the proteins comprises an amino acid sequence with at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID NOS: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 or 28.

In additional embodiments, the composition further comprises an immunological adjuvant, such as an adjuvant that comprises (a) a polyphosphazine; (b) a CpG oligonucleotide or a poly (I:C); and (c) a host defense peptide.

In further embodiments, a DNA molecule is provided. The DNA molecule is modified for expression in E. coli and is selected from: SEQ ID NOS:1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25 or 27; or a DNA sequence that comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding an Mmm protein, wherein the DNA sequence is present in SEQ ID NOS: 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80.

In additional embodiments, a recombinant vector is provided. The vector comprises (a) one or more DNA molecules as described above; and (b) control elements that are operably linked to the molecule whereby a coding sequence in the molecule can be transcribed and translated in a host cell.

Also provided is a host cell transformed with the recombinant vector, as well as a method of producing a Mycoplasma protein comprising: (a) providing a population of such host cells; and (b) culturing said population of cells under conditions whereby the protein encoded by the DNA molecule present in said recombinant vector is expressed.

In further embodiments, a method of treating or preventing a Mycoplasma infection in a vertebrate subject is provided. The method comprises administering a therapeutic amount of any one of the compositions described above, to the subject. In certain embodiments, the subject is a bovine subject and the Mycoplasma infection is contagious bovine pleuropneumonia.

In additional embodiments, the invention is directed to a use of an immunogenic composition as described above, for treating or preventing a Mycoplasma infection in a vertebrate subject. In certain embodiments, the subject is a bovine subject. In additional embodiments, the Mycoplasma infection is contagious bovine pleuropneumonia or an M. bovis infection.

These and other embodiments of the subject invention will readily occur to those of skill in the art in view of the disclosure herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIGS. 1A-1E show serum IgG1 immune responses to recombinant proteins used in trial 1 as described in the examples. For clarity purposes, only the responses at days 0 (Black circles) and 35 (White circles) in the vaccinated and placebo (P) groups are shown. The groups are listed on the side of each panel. The X-axis indicates the recombinant proteins used for each group (names shortened for clarity purposes). The bars across the symbols show the median of the values. Significant differences between the day 0 and day 35 titres for each antigen are shown by asterisks, *=P<0.05; and **=P<0.01. Significant differences between the day 35 titres of the vaccinated and placebo group for each protein are shown by a=P<0.05, b=P<0.01. Differences between the day 35 IgG1 titres between proteins in the same group are shown by #=P<0.05 and &=P<0.01.

FIGS. 2A-2E show serum IgG2 responses against the recombinant proteins used in trial 1 as described in the examples. For clarity purposes, only the responses at days 0 (Black circles) and 35 (White circles) in the vaccinated and placebo (P) groups are shown. The groups are listed on the side of each panel. The X-axis indicates the recombinant proteins used for each group. The protein name followed by (P) indicates the placebo group. The bars across the symbols show the median of the values. Significant differences between the titres in vaccinate and placebo groups are shown by asterisks, *=P<0.05; and **=P<0.01. Significant differences between the day 35 titres of the vaccinated and placebo group for each protein are shown by a=P<0.05, b=P<0.01. Differences between the day 35 IgG2 titres between proteins are shown by #=P<0.05 and &=P<0.01.

FIGS. 3A-3E show serum IgG1 responses against the recombinant proteins used in trial 2 as described in the examples. For clarity purposes, only the responses at days 0 (Black circles) and 35 (White circles) in the vaccinated and placebo (P) groups are shown. The groups are listed on the side of each panel. The X-axis indicates the recombinant proteins used for each group (Names shortened for clarity purposes). The bars across the symbols show the median of the values. Significant differences between the day 0 and day 35 titres for each antigen are shown by asterisks, *=P<0.05; and **=P<0.01. Significant differences between the day 35 titres of the vaccinated and placebo group for each protein are shown by a=P<0.05, b=P<0.01. Differences between the day 35 IgG1 titres between proteins in the same group are shown by #=P<0.05 and &=P<0.01.

FIGS. 4A-4E show serum IgG2 responses against the recombinant proteins used in trial 2 as described in the examples. For clarity purposes, only the responses at days 0 (Black circles) and 35 (White circles) in the vaccinated and placebo (P) groups are shown. The groups are listed on the side of each panel. The X-axis indicates the recombinant proteins used for each group. The protein name followed by (P) indicates the placebo group. The bars across the symbols show the median of the values. Significant differences between the titres in the vaccinated and placebo groups are shown by asterisks; *=P<0.05; and **=P<0.01. Significant differences between the day 35 titres of the vaccinated and placebo group for each protein are shown by a=P<0.05, b=P<0.01. Differences between the day 35 IgG2 titres between proteins are shown by #=P<0.05 and &=P<0.01.

FIGS. 5A-5D show serum IgG1 responses against the recombinant proteins used in trial 3 as described in the examples. For clarity purposes, only the responses at days 0 (Black circles) and 35 (White circles) in the vaccinated and placebo (P) groups are shown. The groups are listed on the side of each panel. The X-axis indicates the recombinant proteins used for each group (Names shortened for clarity purposes). The bars across the symbols show the median of the values. Significant differences between the day 0 and day 35 titres for each antigen are shown by asterisks, *=P<0.05; and **=P<0.01. Significant differences between the day 35 titres of the vaccinated and placebo group for each protein are shown by a=P<0.05, b=P<0.01. Differences between the day 35 IgG1 titres between proteins in the same group are shown by #=P<0.05 and &=P<0.01.

FIGS. 6A-6D show serum IgG2 responses against the recombinant proteins used in trial 3 as described in the examples. For clarity purposes, only the responses at days 0 (Black circles) and 35 (White circles) in the vaccinated and placebo (P) groups are shown. The groups are listed on the side of each panel. The X-axis indicates the recombinant proteins used for each group. The protein name followed by (P) indicates the placebo group. The bars across the symbols show the median of the values. Significant differences between the titres in the vaccinated and placebo groups are shown by asterisks; *=P<0.05; and **=P<0.01. Significant differences between the day 35 titres of the vaccinated and placebo group for each protein are shown by a=P<0.05, b=P<0.01. Differences between the day 35 IgG2 titres between proteins are shown by #=P<0.05 and &=P<0.01.

FIGS. 7A-7E show PBMC proliferative responses in trial 1 after incubation with the recall antigens as described in the examples. The groups are listed on the top of each panel. The mean and standard deviation of the stimulation indexes (Si) at day 35 (Two weeks after the boost) for the vaccinated (Black circles) and placebo (Black triangles) groups are shown. The X-axis shows the positive control (ConA) and the recall antigens used in each group. There were no significant differences between the vaccinated and placebo Si for each of the recall antigens and no differences between the Si of any of the antigens in the vaccinated groups.

FIGS. 8A-8E show PBMC proliferative responses in trial 2 after incubation with the recall antigens as described in the examples. The groups are listed on the top of each panel. The mean and standard deviation of the stimulation indexes (Si) at day 35 (Two weeks after the boost) for the vaccinated (Black circles) and placebo (Black triangles) groups are shown. The X-axis shows the positive control (ConA) and the recall antigens used in each group. There were no significant differences between the vaccinated and placebo Si for each of the recall antigens and no differences between the Si of any of the antigens in the vaccinated groups.

FIGS. 9A-9D show PBMC proliferative responses in trial 3 after incubation with the recall antigens as described in the examples. The groups are listed on the top of each panel. The mean and standard deviation of the stimulation indexes (Si) at day 35 (Two weeks after the boost) for the vaccinated (Black circles) and placebo (Black triangles) groups are shown. The X-axis shows the positive control (ConA) and the recall antigens used in each group. There were no significant differences between the vaccinated and placebo Si for each of the recall antigens and no differences between the Si of any of the antigens in the vaccinated groups.

FIGS. 10A-10C show serum TGF-β levels in the three trials as described in the examples. The day 0 and day 35 serum TGF-β levels for trials 1, 2 and 3 are shown in A, B, and C respectively. The black circles indicate the levels at day 0 while white circles show the levels at day 35. The groups including the placebo groups F, L, and Q are indicated on the X-axis. In trials 1 and 2, there were no significant differences between day 0 and day 35 TGF-(3 levels. The TGF-β levels at day 35 were significantly lower (P<0.05) than the day 0 values in the groups M and P of the third trial.

FIGS. 11A-11B (SEQ ID NOS:1 and 2) show the modified nucleotide sequence of MSC_0136 (SEQ ID NO: 1) and the amino acid sequence of the protein antigen MSC_0136 (SEQ ID NO:2) used in the examples. The sequences differ from those reported in NCBI in that the DNA sequence has been modified for expression in E. coli; and the protein sequence lacks the first 24 amino acids (the signal sequence).

FIGS. 12A-12B (SEQ ID NOS:3 and 4) show the modified nucleotide sequence of MSC_0957 (SEQ ID NO:3) and the amino acid sequence of the protein antigen MSC_0957 (SEQ ID NO:4) used in the examples. The sequences differ from those reported in NCBI in that the DNA sequence has been modified for expression in E. coli; and the protein sequence lacks the first 23 amino acids (the signal sequence).

FIGS. 13A-13B (SEQ ID NOS:5 and 6) show the modified nucleotide sequence of MSC_0499 (SEQ ID NO:5) and amino acid sequence of the protein antigen MSC_0499 (SEQ ID NO:6) used in the examples. The sequences differ from those reported in NCBI in that the DNA sequence has been modified for expression in E. coli; and the protein sequence lacks the first 23 amino acids (the signal sequence).

FIGS. 14A-14B (SEQ ID NOS:7 and 8) show the modified nucleotide sequence of MSC_0431 (SEQ ID NO:7) and amino acid sequence of the protein antigen MSC_0431 (SEQ ID NO:8) used in the examples. The sequences differ from those reported in NCBI in that the DNA sequence has been modified for expression in E. coli; and the protein sequence lacks the first 26 amino acids (the signal sequence).

FIGS. 15A-15B (SEQ ID NOS:9 and 10) show the modified nucleotide sequence of MSC_0776 (SEQ ID NO:9) and amino acid sequence of the protein antigen MSC_0776 (SEQ ID NO: 10) used in the examples. The sequences differ from those reported in NCBI in that the DNA sequence has been modified for expression in E. coli; and the protein sequence lacks the first 27 amino acids (the signal sequence).

FIGS. 16A-16B (SEQ ID NOS: 11 and 12) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, of YP_004400559.1 (SEQ ID NO:11) and amino acid sequence of the protein antigen YP_004400559.1 (SEQ ID NO: 12) used in the examples. The amino acid sequence differs from that reported in NCBI in that the sequence lacks the first 24 amino acids (the signal sequence) and includes an N-terminal methionine.

FIGS. 17A-17B (SEQ ID NOS: 13 and 14) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, of YP_004399807.1 (SEQ ID NO:13) and amino acid sequence of the protein antigen YP_004399807.1 (SEQ ID NO: 14) used in the examples. The amino acid sequence differs from that reported in NCBI in that the sequence lacks the first 24 amino acids (the signal sequence) and includes an N-terminal methionine.

FIGS. 18A-18B (SEQ ID NOS:15 and 16) show the modified nucleotide sequence of MSC_0816 (SEQ ID NO:15) and amino acid sequence of the protein antigen MSC_0816 (SEQ ID NO: 16) used in the examples. The sequences differ from those reported in NCBI in that the DNA sequence has been modified for expression in E. coli; and the protein sequence lacks the first 23 amino acids (the signal sequence).

FIGS. 19A-19B (SEQ ID NOS:17 and 18) show the modified nucleotide sequence of MSC_0160 (SEQ ID NO: 17) and amino acid sequence of the protein antigen MSC_0160 (SEQ ID NO:18) used in the examples. The DNA sequence differs from that reported in NCBI in that the DNA sequence has been modified for expression in E. coli.

FIGS. 20A-20B (SEQ ID NOS:19 and 20) show the modified nucleotide sequence of MSC_0775 (SEQ ID NO: 19) and amino acid sequence of the protein antigen MSC_0775 (SEQ ID NO:20) used in the examples. The sequences differ from those reported in NCBI in that the DNA sequence has been modified for expression in E. coli; and the protein sequence lacks the first 25 amino acids (the signal sequence).

FIGS. 21A-21B (SEQ ID NOS:21 and 22) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, of YP_004400127.1 (SEQ ID NO:21) and amino acid sequence of the protein antigen YP_004400127.1 (SEQ ID NO:22) used in the examples. The amino acid sequence differs from that reported in NCBI in that it lacks the first 23 amino acids (the signal sequence) and includes an N-terminal methionine.

FIGS. 22A-22B (SEQ ID NOS:23 and 24) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, of YP_004399790.1 (SEQ ID NO:23) and amino acid sequence of the protein antigen YP_004399790.1 (SEQ ID NO:24) used in the examples.

FIGS. 23A-23B (SEQ ID NOS:25 and 26) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, of YP_004400580.1 (SEQ ID NO:25) and amino acid sequence of the protein antigen YP_004400580.1 (SEQ ID NO:26) used in the examples. The amino acid sequence differs from that reported in NCBI in that it lacks 15 amino acids from the C-terminus.

FIGS. 24A-24B (SEQ ID NOS:27 and 28) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, of YP_004400610.1 (SEQ ID NO:27) and amino acid sequence of the protein antigen YP_004400610.1 (SEQ ID NO:28) used in the examples. The amino acid sequence differs from that reported in NCBI in that the sequence lacks the first 24 amino acids (the signal sequence) and includes an N-terminal methionine.

FIGS. 25A-25B (SEQ ID NOS:50 and 51) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, of a fusion (SEQ ID NO:50) between YP_004400127.1 and YP_004399790.1 and the amino acid sequence of the protein fusion (SEQ ID NO:51) used in the examples. The YP_004400127.1 sequence occurs at positions 1-214 of the protein and the YP_004399790.1 sequence is present at positions 221-532 of the protein. The two sequences are linked by a Gly₆ linker, bolded in the figure.

FIGS. 26A-26B (SEQ ID NOS:52 and 53) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, of a fusion (SEQ ID NO:52) between sequences derived from YP_004400610.1 and YP_00400580.1 and the amino acid sequence of the protein fusion (SEQ ID NO:53) used in the examples. The YP_004400610.1 sequence occurs at positions 1-189 of the protein and the sequence derived from YP_004399790.1 is present at positions 195-557 of the protein. The YP_00400580.1 sequence in the fusion lacks the first 20 amino acids present in the YP_00400580.1 sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:26. The two sequences are linked by a Gly₅ linker, bolded in the figure.

FIGS. 27A-27B (SEQ ID NOS:54 and 55) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, (SEQ ID NO:54) and amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:55) of pAA352-YP_004400127.1-YP_004399790.1 used in the examples. The leukotoxin 352 carrier, (also termed “LKT 352” and “LtxA” herein) occurs at positions 1-926 of the amino acid sequence and is bolded in SEQ ID NO:55; The YP_004400127.1 sequence occurs at positions 927-1140 of SEQ ID NO:55; the YP_004399790.1 sequence is present at positions 1147-1458 of SEQ ID NO:55. The two sequences are linked by a Gly₆ linker, bolded in the figure.

FIGS. 28A-28B (SEQ ID NOS:56 and 57) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, (SEQ ID NO:56) and amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:57) of pAA352-YP_004400610.1-YP_00400580.1 used in the examples. The leukotoxin 352 carrier, (also termed “LKT 352” and “LtxA” herein) occurs at positions 1-926 of the amino acid sequence and is bolded in SEQ ID NO:57; The YP_004400610.1 sequence occurs at positions 927-1115 of SEQ ID NO:57; the YP_00400580.1 sequence is present at positions 1121-1483 of SEQ ID NO:57. The YP_00400580.1 sequence in the fusion lacks the first 20 amino acids present in the YP_00400580.1 sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:26. The two sequences are linked by a Gly₅ linker, bolded in the figure.

FIGS. 29A-29B (SEQ ID NOS:58 and 59) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, (SEQ ID NO:58) and amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:59) of pAA352-MSC_0160 used in the examples. The leukotoxin 352 carrier, (also termed “LKT 352” and “LtxA” herein) occurs at positions 1-926 of the amino acid sequence and is bolded in SEQ ID NO:59; The MSC_0160 sequence occurs at positions 927-1320 of SEQ ID NO:59. The MSC_0160 sequence lacks the N-terminal methionine shown in SEQ ID NO:18.

FIGS. 30A-30B (SEQ ID NOS:60 and 61) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, (SEQ ID NO:60) and amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:61) of pAA352-MSC_0136 used in the examples. The leukotoxin 352 carrier, (also termed “LKT 352” and “LtxA” herein) occurs at positions 1-926 of the amino acid sequence and is bolded in SEQ ID NO:61; the MSC_0136 sequence occurs at positions 927-1224 of SEQ ID NO:61.

FIGS. 31A-31B (SEQ ID NOS:62 and 63) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, (SEQ ID NO:62) and amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:63) of pAA352-MSC_0431 used in the examples. The leukotoxin 352 carrier, (also termed “LKT 352” and “LtxA” herein) occurs at positions 1-926 of the amino acid sequence and is bolded in SEQ ID NO:63; the MSC_0431 sequence occurs at positions 927-1256 of SEQ ID NO:63.

FIGS. 32A-32B (SEQ ID NOS:64 and 65) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, (SEQ ID NO:64) and amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:65) of pAA352-MSC_0499 used in the examples. The leukotoxin 352 carrier, (also termed “LKT 352” and “LtxA” herein) occurs at positions 1-926 of the amino acid sequence and is bolded in SEQ ID NO:65; the MSC_0499 sequence occurs at positions 927-1620 of SEQ ID NO:65.

FIGS. 33A-33B (SEQ ID NOS:66 and 67) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, (SEQ ID NO:66) and amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:67) of pAA352-MSC_0775 used in the examples. The leukotoxin 352 carrier, (also termed “LKT 352” and “LtxA” herein) occurs at positions 1-926 of the amino acid sequence and is bolded in SEQ ID NO:67; the MSC_0775 sequence occurs at positions 927-1608 of SEQ ID NO:67. The MSC_0775 sequence lacks the first 20 amino acids shown in SEQ ID NO:20.

FIGS. 34A-34B (SEQ ID NOS:68 and 69) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, (SEQ ID NO:68) and amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:69) of pAA352-MSC_0776 used in the examples. The leukotoxin 352 carrier, (also termed “LKT 352” and “LtxA” herein) occurs at positions 1-926 of the amino acid sequence and is bolded in SEQ ID NO:69; the MSC_0776 sequence occurs at positions 927-1681 of SEQ ID NO:69.

FIGS. 35A-35B (SEQ ID NOS:70 and 71) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, (SEQ ID NO:70) and amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:71) of pAA352-MSC_0816 used in the examples. The leukotoxin 352 carrier, (also termed “LKT 352” and “LtxA” herein) occurs at positions 1-926 of the amino acid sequence and is bolded in SEQ ID NO:71; the MSC_0816 sequence occurs at positions 927-1308 of SEQ ID NO:71.

FIGS. 36A-36B (SEQ ID NOS:72 and 73) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, (SEQ ID NO:72) and amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:73) of pAA352-MSC_0957 used in the examples. The leukotoxin 352 carrier, (also termed “LKT 352” and “LtxA” herein) occurs at positions 1-926 of the amino acid sequence and is bolded in SEQ ID NO:73; the MSC_0957 sequence occurs at positions 927-1336 of SEQ ID NO:73.

FIGS. 37A-37B (SEQ ID NOS:74 and 75) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, (SEQ ID NO:74) and amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:75) of pAA352-MSC_0466-MSC_0117 used in the examples. The leukotoxin 352 carrier, (also termed “LKT 352” and “LtxA” herein) occurs at positions 1-926 of the amino acid sequence and is bolded in SEQ ID NO:75; The MSC_0466 sequence occurs at positions 927-1180 of SEQ ID NO:75; the MSC_0117 sequence is present at positions 1184-1421 of SEQ ID NO:75. The two sequences are linked by a Gly₃ linker, bolded in the figure.

FIGS. 38A-38B (SEQ ID NOS:76 and 77) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, (SEQ ID NO:76) and amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:77) of pAA352-MSC_0922-MSC_1058 used in the examples. The leukotoxin 352 carrier, (also termed “LKT 352” and “LtxA” herein) occurs at positions 1-926 of the amino acid sequence and is bolded in SEQ ID NO:77; The MSC_0922 sequence occurs at positions 927-1325 of SEQ ID NO:77; the MSC_1058 sequence is present at positions 1329-1468 of SEQ ID NO:77. The two sequences are linked by a Gly₃ linker, bolded in the figure.

FIGS. 39A-39B (SEQ ID NOS:78 and 79) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, (SEQ ID NO:78) and amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:79) of pAA352-YP_004399807.1 used in the examples. The leukotoxin 352 carrier, (also termed “LKT 352” and “LtxA” herein) occurs at positions 1-926 of the amino acid sequence and is bolded in SEQ ID NO:79; the YP_004399807.1 sequence occurs at positions 927-1273 of SEQ ID NO:79. The YP_004399807.1 sequence lacks the N-terminal methionine shown in SEQ ID NO: 14.

FIGS. 40A-40B (SEQ ID NOS:80 and 81) show the nucleotide sequence, modified for expression in E. coli, (SEQ ID NO:80) and amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:81) of pAA352-YP_00400559.1 used in the examples. The leukotoxin 352 carrier, (also termed “LKT 352” and “LtxA” herein) occurs at positions 1-926 of the amino acid sequence and is bolded in SEQ ID NO:81; the YP_00400559.1 sequence occurs at positions 927-1061 of SEQ ID NO:81. The YP_00400559.1 sequence lacks the N-terminal methionine shown in SEQ ID NO:12.

FIG. 41 (SEQ ID NOS:82 and 83) shows the nucleotide sequence (SEQ ID NO:82) and amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:83) of a representative leukotoxin 352 (LKT 352) from plasmid pAA352. The first 10 N-terminal amino acids and last 2 C-terminal amino acids depicted in the figure are flanking sequences from plasmid pAA352. The remaining amino acids are leukotoxin sequences. LKT 352 is a detoxified mutant of leukotoxin.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The practice of the present invention will employ, unless otherwise indicated, conventional methods of virology, chemistry, biochemistry, recombinant DNA techniques and immunology, within the skill of the art. Such techniques are explained fully in the literature. See, e.g., Fundamental Virology, Current Edition, vol. I & II (B. N. Fields and D. M. Knipe, eds.); Handbook of Experimental Immunology, Vols. I-IV (D. M. Weir and C. C. Blackwell eds., Blackwell Scientific Publications); T. E. Creighton, Proteins. Structures and Molecular Properties (W.H. Freeman and Company); A. L. Lehninger, Biochemistry (Worth Publishers, Inc., current edition); Sambrook, et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (current edition); Methods In Enzymology (S. Colowick and N. Kaplan eds., Academic Press, Inc.).

All publications, patents and patent applications cited herein, whether supra or infra, are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

The following amino acid abbreviations are used throughout the text:

Alanine: Ala (A) Arginine: Arg (R) Asparagine: Asn (N) Aspartic acid: Asp (D) Cysteine: Cys (C) Glutamine: Gln (Q) Glutamic acid: Glu (E) Glycine: Gly (G) Histidine: His (H) Isoleucine: Ile (I) Leucine: Leu (L) Lysine: Lys (K) Methionine: Met (M) Phenylalanine: Phe (F) Proline: Pro (P) Serine: Ser (S) Threonine: Thr (T) Tryptophan: Trp (W) Tyrosine: Tyr (Y) Valine: Val (V)

1. DEFINITIONS

In describing the present invention, the following terms will be employed, and are intended to be defined as indicated below.

It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “an antigen” includes a mixture of two or more such antigens, and the like.

As used herein, the term “Mycoplasma” refers to bacteria belonging to the class Mollicutes and the genus Mycoplasma. The term intends any species and subspecies of the genus Mycoplasma, which is capable of causing disease in an animal or human subject. Such species are described below.

As used herein, the term “Mycoplasma mycoides” or “M. mycoides” refers to any of the species and subspecies from the Mycoplasma mycoides cluster, a group of closely related infectious mycoplasmas. The cluster contains several species and subspecies including M. mycoides subsp. mycoides biotype Small Colony (MmmSC); M. mycoides subsp. mycoides biotype Large Colony (MmmLC); M. mycoides subsp. capri (Mmc); M. capricolum subsp. capricolum (Mcc); M. capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae (Mccp); and Mycoplasma sp. ‘bovine group 7’ (MBG7).

The term “derived from” is used herein to identify the original source of a molecule but is not meant to limit the method by which the molecule is made which can be, for example, by chemical synthesis or recombinant means.

A “Mycoplasma molecule” is a molecule derived from Mycoplasma, including, without limitation, polypeptide, protein, antigen, polynucleotide, oligonucleotide, and nucleic acid molecules, as defined herein, from any of the various Mycoplasma species and subspecies. The molecule need not be physically derived from the particular bacterium in question, but may be synthetically or recombinantly produced. Nucleic acid and polypeptide sequences for a number of Mycoplasma species are known and/or described herein. Representative Mycoplasma sequences for use in treating and/or preventing M. mycoides infection, such as CBPP, are presented in Tables 1 and 4 and FIGS. 11-40 herein. It is to be understood that while Table 4 and several figures describe M. mycoides fusion proteins, as well as conjugates of the fusions, the individual M. mycoides proteins in the fusions and the conjugates are also intended. The boundaries of the individual M. mycoides proteins present in the fusions, as well as the M. mycoides proteins present in the conjugates, are described above.

Additional representative sequences found in various species are listed in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database. However, a Mycoplasma molecule, such as an antigen, as defined herein, is not limited to those shown and described in Tables 1 and 4 and FIGS. 11-40, as various isolates are known and variations in sequences may occur between them.

By “Mycoplasma disease” is meant a disease caused in whole or in part by a Mycoplasma bacterium. For example, Mycoplasma bacteria cause a number of diseases in animals, such as but not limited to pneumonia, e.g., contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, mastitis, arthritis, otitis, keratoconjunctivitis, synovitis, and reproductive disorders. In humans such diseases include pneumonia and other respiratory problems such as tracheobronchitis, bronchiolitis, pharyngitis and croup; pelvic inflammatory disease; and cancer.

The terms “polypeptide” and “protein” refer to a polymer of amino acid residues and are not limited to a minimum length of the product. Thus, peptides, oligopeptides, dimers, multimers, and the like, are included within the definition. Both full-length proteins and fragments thereof are encompassed by the definition. The terms also include postexpression modifications of the polypeptide, for example, glycosylation, acetylation, phosphorylation and the like. Furthermore, for purposes of the present invention, a “polypeptide” refers to a protein which includes modifications, such as deletions, additions and substitutions, to the native sequence, so long as the protein maintains the desired activity. These modifications may be deliberate, as through site-directed mutagenesis, or may be accidental, such as through mutations of hosts which produce the proteins or errors due to PCR amplification.

The term “peptide” as used herein refers to a fragment of a polypeptide. Thus, a peptide can include a C-terminal deletion, an N-terminal deletion and/or an internal deletion of the native polypeptide, so long as the entire protein sequence is not present. A peptide will generally include at least about 3-10 contiguous amino acid residues of the full-length molecule, and can include at least about 15-25 contiguous amino acid residues of the full-length molecule, or at least about 20-50 or more contiguous amino acid residues of the full-length molecule, or any integer between 3 amino acids and the number of amino acids in the full-length sequence, provided that the peptide in question retains the ability to elicit the desired biological response.

By “immunogenic” protein, polypeptide or peptide is meant a molecule which includes one or more epitopes and thus can modulate an immune response. Such peptides can be identified using any number of epitope mapping techniques, well known in the art. See, e.g., Epitope Mapping Protocols in Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol. 66 (Glenn E. Morris, Ed., 1996) Humana Press, Totowa, N.J. For example, linear epitopes may be determined by e.g., concurrently synthesizing large numbers of peptides on solid supports, the peptides corresponding to portions of the protein molecule, and reacting the peptides with antibodies while the peptides are still attached to the supports. Such techniques are known in the art and described in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,871; Geysen et al. (1984) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 81:3998-4002; Geysen et al. (1986) Molec. Immunol. 23:709-715, all incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Similarly, conformational epitopes are readily identified by determining spatial conformation of amino acids such as by, e.g., x-ray crystallography and 2-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance. See, e.g., Epitope Mapping Protocols, supra. Antigenic regions of proteins can also be identified using standard antigenicity and hydropathy plots, such as those calculated using, e.g., the Omiga version 1.0 software program available from the Oxford Molecular Group. This computer program employs the Hopp/Woods method, Hopp et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA (1981) 78:3824-3828 for determining antigenicity profiles, and the Kyte-Doolittle technique, Kyte et al., J. Mol. Biol. (1982) 157:105-132 for hydropathy plots.

Immunogenic molecules, for purposes of the present invention, will usually be at least about 5 amino acids in length, such as at least about 10 to about 15 amino acids in length. There is no critical upper limit to the length of the molecule, which can comprise the full-length of the protein sequence, or even a fusion protein comprising two or more epitopes, proteins, antigens, etc.

As used herein, the term “epitope” generally refers to the site on an antigen which is recognized by a T-cell receptor and/or an antibody. Several different epitopes may be carried by a single antigenic molecule. The term “epitope” also includes modified sequences of amino acids which stimulate responses which recognize the whole organism. The epitope can be generated from knowledge of the amino acid and corresponding DNA sequences of the polypeptide, as well as from the nature of particular amino acids (e.g., size, charge, etc.) and the codon dictionary, without undue experimentation. See, e.g., Ivan Roitt, Essential Immunology; Janis Kuby, Immunology.

An “immunological response” to an antigen or composition is the development in a subject of a humoral and/or a cellular immune response to an antigen present in the composition of interest. For purposes of the present invention, a “humoral immune response” refers to an immune response mediated by antibody molecules, while a “cellular immune response” is one mediated by T-lymphocytes and/or other white blood cells. One important aspect of cellular immunity involves an antigen-specific response by cytolytic T-cells (“CTL”s). CTLs have specificity for peptide antigens that are presented in association with proteins encoded by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and expressed on the surfaces of cells. CTLs help induce and promote the destruction of intracellular microbes, or the lysis of cells infected with such microbes. Another aspect of cellular immunity involves an antigen-specific response by helper T-cells. Helper T-cells act to help stimulate the function, and focus the activity of, nonspecific effector cells against cells displaying peptide antigens in association with MHC molecules on their surface. A “cellular immune response” also refers to the production of cytokines, chemokines and other such molecules produced by activated T-cells and/or other white blood cells, including those derived from CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells.

Thus, an immunological response as used herein may be one that stimulates the production of antibodies. The antigen of interest may also elicit production of CTLs. Hence, an immunological response may include one or more of the following effects: the production of antibodies by B-cells; and/or the activation of suppressor T-cells and/or memory/effector T-cells directed specifically to an antigen or antigens present in the composition or vaccine of interest. These responses may serve to neutralize infectivity, and/or mediate antibody-complement, or antibody dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC) to provide protection to an immunized host. Such responses can be determined using standard immunoassays and neutralization assays, well known in the art. (See, e.g., Montefiori et al. (1988) J. Clin Microbiol. 26:231-235; Dreyer et al. (1999) AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses (1999) 15(17): 1563-1571). The innate immune system of mammals also recognizes and responds to molecular features of pathogenic organisms via activation of Toll-like receptors and similar receptor molecules on immune cells. Upon activation of the innate immune system, various non-adaptive immune response cells. are activated to, e.g., produce various cytokines, lymphokines and chemokines. Cells activated by an innate immune response include immature and mature Dendritic cells of the monocyte and plasmacytoid lineage (MDC, PDC), as well as gamma, delta, alpha and beta T cells and B cells and the like. Thus, the present invention also contemplates an immune response wherein the immune response involves both an innate and adaptive response.

An “immunogenic composition” is a composition that comprises an immunogenic molecule where administration of the composition to a subject results in the development in the subject of a humoral and/or a cellular immune response to the molecule of interest.

An “antigen” refers to a molecule, such as a protein, polypeptide, or fragment thereof, containing one or more epitopes (either linear, conformational or both) that will stimulate a host's immune-system to make a humoral and/or cellular antigen-specific response. The term is used interchangeably with the term “immunogen.” Antibodies such as anti-idiotype antibodies, or fragments thereof, and synthetic peptide mimotopes, which can mimic an antigen or antigenic determinant, are also captured under the definition of antigen as used herein. Similarly, an oligonucleotide or polynucleotide which expresses an antigen or antigenic determinant in vivo, such as in DNA immunization applications, is also included in the definition of antigen herein.

By “subunit vaccine” is meant a vaccine composition that includes one or more selected antigens but not all antigens, derived from or homologous to, an antigen from a pathogen of interest. Such a composition is substantially free of intact pathogen cells or pathogenic particles, or the lysate of such cells or particles. Thus, a “subunit vaccine” can be prepared from at least partially purified (preferably substantially purified) immunogenic molecules from the pathogen, or analogs thereof. The method of obtaining an antigen included in the subunit vaccine can thus include standard purification techniques, recombinant production, or synthetic production.

By “carrier” is meant any molecule which when associated with an antigen of interest, imparts enhanced immunogenicity to the antigen.

The term “RTX” toxin, as used herein refers to a protein belonging to the family of molecules characterized by the carboxy-terminus consensus amino acid sequence Gly-Gly-X-Gly-X-Asp (SEQ ID NO:78, Highlander et al., DNA (1989) 8:15-28), where X is Lys, Asp, Val or Asn. Such proteins include, among others, leukotoxins derived from P. haemolytica and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, as well as E. coli alpha hemolysin (Strathdee et al., Infect. Immun. (1987) 55:3233-3236; Lo, Can. J. Vet. Res. (1990) 54:S33-S35; Welch, Mol. Microbiol. (1991) 5:521-528). This family of toxins is known as the “RTX” family of toxins (Lo, Can. J. Vet. Res. (1990) 54:S33-S35). In addition, the term “RTX toxin” refers to a member of the RTX family which is chemically synthesized, isolated from an organism expressing the same, or recombinantly produced. Furthermore, the term intends an immunogenic protein having an amino acid sequence substantially homologous to a contiguous amino acid sequence found in the particular native RTX molecule. Thus, the term includes both full-length and partial sequences, as well as analogues. Although native full-length RTX toxins display cytotoxic activity, the term “RTX toxin” also intends molecules which remain immunogenic yet lack the cytotoxic character of native molecules. In the chimeras produced according to the present invention, a selected RTX polypeptide sequence imparts enhanced immunogenicity to a fused Mycoplasma protein or fusion proteins comprising more than one Mycoplasma protein or antigen.

The term “leukotoxin polypeptide” or “LKT polypeptide” intends an RTX toxin derived from P. haemolytica, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, among others, as defined above. The nucleotide sequences and corresponding amino acid sequences for several leukotoxins are known. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,957,739 and 5,055,400; Lo et al., Infect. Immun. (1985) 50:667-67; Lo et al., Infect. Immun. (1987) 55:1987-1996; Strathdee et al., Infect. Immun. (1987) 55:3233-3236; Highlander et al., DNA (1989) 8:15-28; Welch, Mol. Microbiol. (1991) 5:521-528. A selected leukotoxin polypeptide sequence imparts enhanced immunogenicity to a fused Mycoplasma protein or fusion proteins comprising more than one Mycoplasma protein or antigen.

“Substantially purified” generally refers to isolation of a substance such that the substance comprises the majority percent of the sample in which it resides. Typically in a sample, a substantially purified component comprises 50%, preferably 80%-85%, more preferably 90-95% of the sample. Techniques for purifying molecules of interest are well-known in the art and include, for example, ion-exchange chromatography, affinity chromatography and sedimentation according to density.

By “isolated” is meant that the indicated molecule is separate and discrete from the whole organism with which the molecule is found in nature or is present in the substantial absence of other biological macromolecules of the same type.

An “antibody” intends a molecule that “recognizes,” i.e., specifically binds to an epitope of interest present in an antigen. By “specifically binds” is meant that the antibody interacts with the epitope in a “lock and key” type of interaction to form a complex between the antigen and antibody, as opposed to non-specific binding that might occur between the antibody and, for instance, components in a mixture that includes the test substance with which the antibody is reacted. The term “antibody” as used herein includes antibodies obtained from both polyclonal and monoclonal preparations, as well as, the following: hybrid (chimeric) antibody molecules (see, for example, Winter et al., Nature (1991) 349:293-299; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,567); F(ab′)2 and F(ab) fragments; Fv molecules (non-covalent heterodimers, see, for example, Inbar et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (1972) 69:2659-2662; and Ehrlich et al., Biochem (1980) 19:4091-4096); single-chain Fv molecules (sFv) (see, for example, Huston et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (1988) 85:5879-5883); dimeric and trimeric antibody fragment constructs; minibodies (see, e.g., Pack et al., Biochem (1992) 31:1579-1584; Cumber et al., J Immunology (1992) 149B:120-126); humanized antibody molecules (see, for example, Riechmann et al., Nature (1988) 332:323-327; Verhoeyan et al., Science (1988) 239:1534-1536; and U.K. Patent Publication No. GB 2,276,169, published 21 Sep. 1994); and, any functional fragments obtained from such molecules, wherein such fragments retain immunological binding properties of the parent antibody molecule.

As used herein, the term “monoclonal antibody” refers to an antibody composition having a homogeneous antibody population. The term is not limited regarding the species or source of the antibody, nor is it intended to be limited by the manner in which it is made. The term encompasses whole immunoglobulins as well as fragments such as Fab, F(ab′)₂, Fv, and other fragments, as well as chimeric and humanized homogeneous antibody populations, that exhibit immunological binding properties of the parent monoclonal antibody molecule.

“Homology” refers to the percent identity between two polynucleotide or two polypeptide moieties. Two nucleic acid, or two polypeptide sequences are “substantially homologous” to each other when the sequences exhibit at least about 50% sequence identity, preferably at least about 75% sequence identity, more preferably at least about 80%-85% sequence identity, more preferably at least about 90% sequence identity, and most preferably at least about 95%-98% sequence identity over a defined length of the molecules. As used herein, substantially homologous also refers to sequences showing complete identity to the specified sequence.

In general, “identity” refers to an exact nucleotide-to-nucleotide or amino acid-to-amino acid correspondence of two polynucleotides or polypeptide sequences, respectively. Percent identity can be determined by a direct comparison of the sequence information between two molecules by aligning the sequences, counting the exact number of matches between the two aligned sequences, dividing by the length of the shorter sequence, and multiplying the result by 100. Readily available computer programs can be used to aid in the analysis, such as ALIGN, Dayhoff, M. O. in Atlas of Protein Sequence and Structure M. O. Dayhoff ed., 5 Suppl. 3:353-358, National biomedical Research Foundation, Washington, D.C., which adapts the local homology algorithm of Smith and Waterman Advances in Appl. Math. 2:482-489, 1981 for peptide analysis. Programs for determining nucleotide sequence identity are available in the Wisconsin Sequence Analysis Package, Version 8 (available from Genetics Computer Group, Madison, Wis.) for example, the BESTFIT, FASTA and GAP programs, which also rely on the Smith and Waterman algorithm. These programs are readily utilized with the default parameters recommended by the manufacturer and described in the Wisconsin Sequence Analysis Package referred to above. For example, percent identity of a particular nucleotide sequence to a reference sequence can be determined using the homology algorithm of Smith and Waterman with a default scoring table and a gap penalty of six nucleotide positions.

Another method of establishing percent identity in the context of the present invention is to use the MPSRCH package of programs copyrighted by the University of Edinburgh, developed by John F. Collins and Shane S. Sturrok, and distributed by IntelliGenetics, Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.). From this suite of packages the Smith-Waterman algorithm can be employed where default parameters are used for the scoring table (for example, gap open penalty of 12, gap extension penalty of one, and a gap of six). From the data generated the “Match” value reflects “sequence identity.” Other suitable programs for calculating the percent identity or similarity between sequences are generally known in the art, for example, another alignment program is BLAST, used with default parameters. For example, BLASTN and BLASTP can be used using the following default parameters: genetic code=standard; filter=none; strand=both; cutoff=60; expect=10; Matrix=BLOSUM62; Descriptions=50 sequences; sort by=HIGH SCORE; Databases=non-redundant, GenBank+EMBL+DDBJ+PDB+GenBank CDS translations+Swiss protein+Spupdate+PIR. Details of these programs are readily available.

Alternatively, homology can be determined by hybridization of polynucleotides under conditions which form stable duplexes between homologous regions, followed by digestion with single-stranded-specific nuclease(s), and size determination of the digested fragments. DNA sequences that are substantially homologous can be identified in a Southern hybridization experiment under, for example, stringent conditions, as defined for that particular system. Defining appropriate hybridization conditions is within the skill of the art. See, e.g., Sambrook et al., supra; DNA Cloning, supra; Nucleic Acid Hybridization, supra.

The terms “polynucleotide,” “oligonucleotide,” “nucleic acid” and “nucleic acid molecule” are used herein to include a polymeric form of nucleotides of any length, either ribonucleotides or deoxyribonucleotides. This term refers only to the primary structure of the molecule. Thus, the term includes triple-, double- and single-stranded DNA, as well as triple-, double- and single-stranded RNA. It also includes modifications, such as by methylation and/or by capping, and unmodified forms of the polynucleotide. More particularly, the terms “polynucleotide,” “oligonucleotide,” “nucleic acid” and “nucleic acid molecule” include polydeoxyribonucleotides (containing 2-deoxy-D-ribose), polyribonucleotides (containing D-ribose), any other type of polynucleotide which is an N- or C-glycoside of a purine or pyrimidine base, and other polymers containing nonnucleotidic backbones, for example, polyamide (e.g., peptide nucleic acids (PNAs)) and polymorpholino (commercially available from the Anti-Virals, Inc., Corvallis, Oreg., as Neugene) polymers, and other synthetic sequence-specific nucleic acid polymers providing that the polymers contain nucleobases in a configuration which allows for base pairing and base stacking, such as is found in DNA and RNA. There is no intended distinction in length between the terms “polynucleotide,” “oligonucleotide,” “nucleic acid” and “nucleic acid molecule,” and these terms will be used interchangeably. Thus, these terms include, for example, 3′-deoxy-2′,5′-DNA, oligodeoxyribonucleotide N3′ P5′ phosphoramidates, 2′-O-alkyl-substituted RNA, double- and single-stranded DNA, as well as double- and single-stranded RNA, DNA:RNA hybrids, and hybrids between PNAs and DNA or RNA, and also include known types of modifications, for example, labels which are known in the art, methylation, “caps,” substitution of one or more of the naturally occurring nucleotides with an analog, internucleotide modifications such as, for example, those with uncharged linkages (e.g., methyl phosphonates, phosphotriesters, phosphoramidates, carbamates, etc.), with negatively charged linkages (e.g., phosphorothioates, phosphorodithioates, etc.), and with positively charged linkages (e.g., aminoalklyphosphoramidates, aminoalkylphosphotriesters), those containing pendant moieties, such as, for example, proteins (including nucleases, toxins, antibodies, signal peptides, poly-L-lysine, etc.), those with intercalators (e.g., acridine, psoralen, etc.), those containing chelators (e.g., metals, radioactive metals, boron, oxidative metals, etc.), those containing alkylators, those with modified linkages (e.g., alpha anomeric nucleic acids, etc.), as well as unmodified forms of the polynucleotide or oligonucleotide. In particular, DNA is deoxyribonucleic acid.

“Recombinant” as used herein to describe a nucleic acid molecule means a polynucleotide of genomic, cDNA, viral, semisynthetic, or synthetic origin which, by virtue of its origin or manipulation is not associated with all or a portion of the polynucleotide with which it is associated in nature. The term “recombinant” as used with respect to a protein or polypeptide means a polypeptide produced by expression of a recombinant polynucleotide. In general, the gene of interest is cloned and then expressed in transformed organisms, as described further below. The host organism expresses the foreign gene to produce the protein under expression conditions.

“Recombinant host cells”, “host cells,” “cells”, “cell lines,” “cell cultures”, and other such terms denoting microorganisms or higher eukaryotic cell lines cultured as unicellular entities refer to cells which can be, or have been, used as recipients for recombinant vector or other transferred DNA, and include the original progeny of the original cell which has been transfected.

A “coding sequence” or a sequence which “encodes” a selected polypeptide, is a nucleic acid molecule which is transcribed (in the case of DNA) and translated (in the case of mRNA) into a polypeptide in vitro or in vivo when placed under the control of appropriate regulatory sequences (or “control elements”). The boundaries of the coding sequence can be determined by a start codon at the 5′ (amino) terminus and a translation stop codon at the 3′ (carboxy) terminus. A coding sequence can include, but is not limited to, cDNA from viral, procaryotic or eucaryotic mRNA, genomic DNA sequences from viral or procaryotic DNA, and even synthetic DNA sequences. A transcription termination sequence may be located 3′ to the coding sequence.

Typical “control elements,” include, but are not limited to, transcription promoters, transcription enhancer elements, transcription termination signals, polyadenylation sequences (located 3′ to the translation stop codon), sequences for optimization of initiation of translation (located 5′ to the coding sequence), and translation termination sequences. “Operably linked” refers to an arrangement of elements wherein the components so described are configured so as to perform their usual function. Thus, a given promoter operably linked to a coding sequence is capable of effecting the expression of the coding sequence when the proper enzymes are present. The promoter need not be contiguous with the coding sequence, so long as it functions to direct the expression thereof. Thus, for example, intervening untranslated yet transcribed sequences can be present between the promoter sequence and the coding sequence and the promoter sequence can still be considered “operably linked” to the coding sequence.

“Expression cassette” or “expression construct” refers to an assembly which is capable of directing the expression of the sequence(s) or gene(s) of interest. An expression cassette generally includes control elements, as described above, such as a promoter which is operably linked to (so as to direct transcription of) the sequence(s) or gene(s) of interest, and often includes a polyadenylation sequence as well. Within certain embodiments of the invention, the expression cassette described herein may be contained within a plasmid construct. In addition to the components of the expression cassette, the plasmid construct may also include, one or more selectable markers, a signal which allows the plasmid construct to exist as single-stranded DNA (e.g., a M13 origin of replication), at least one multiple cloning site, and a “mammalian” origin of replication (e.g., a SV40 or adenovirus origin of replication).

The term “transfection” is used to refer to the uptake of foreign DNA by a cell. A cell has been “transfected” when exogenous DNA has been introduced inside the cell membrane. A number of transfection techniques are generally known in the art. See, e.g., Graham et al. (1973) Virology, 52:456, Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning, a laboratory manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, New York, Davis et al. Basic Methods in Molecular Biology, Elsevier. Such techniques can be used to introduce one or more exogenous DNA moieties into suitable host cells. The term refers to both stable and transient uptake of the genetic material, and includes uptake of peptide- or antibody-linked DNAs.

A “vector” is capable of transferring nucleic acid sequences to target cells (e.g., viral vectors, non-viral vectors, particulate carriers, and liposomes). Typically, “vector construct,” “expression vector,” and “gene transfer vector,” mean any nucleic acid construct capable of directing the expression of a nucleic acid of interest and which can transfer nucleic acid sequences to target cells. Thus, the term includes cloning and expression vehicles, as well as viral vectors.

“Gene transfer” or “gene delivery” refers to methods or systems for reliably inserting DNA or RNA of interest into a host cell. Such methods can result in transient expression of non-integrated transferred DNA, extrachromosomal replication and expression of transferred replicons (e.g., episomes), or integration of transferred genetic material into the genomic DNA of host cells. Gene delivery expression vectors include, but are not limited to, vectors derived from bacterial plasmid vectors, viral vectors, non-viral vectors, alphaviruses, pox viruses and vaccinia viruses. When used for immunization, such gene delivery expression vectors may be referred to as vaccines or vaccine vectors.

By “vertebrate subject” is meant any member of the subphylum chordata, including, without limitation, humans and other primates, including non-human primates such as chimpanzees and other apes and monkey species; farm animals such as cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and horses; domestic mammals such as dogs and cats; non-domestic animals such as elk, deer, mink and feral cats; laboratory animals including rodents such as mice, rats and guinea pigs; birds, including domestic, wild and game birds such as chickens, turkeys and other gallinaceous birds, ducks, geese, pheasant, emu, ostrich and the like. The term does not denote a particular age. Thus, both adult and newborn individuals are intended to be covered.

By “therapeutically effective amount” in the context of the immunogenic compositions described herein is meant an amount of an immunogen which will induce an immunological response, either for antibody production or for treatment or prevention of infection.

As used herein, “treatment” refers to any of (i) the prevention of infection or reinfection, as in a traditional vaccine, or (ii) the reduction or elimination of symptoms from an infected individual. Treatment may be effected prophylactically (prior to infection) or therapeutically (following infection). Additionally, prevention or treatment in the context of the present invention can be a reduction of the amount of bacteria present in the subject of interest.

2. MODES OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Before describing the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to particular formulations or process parameters as such may, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments of the invention only, and is not intended to be limiting.

Although a number of methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice of the present invention, the preferred materials and methods are described herein.

The present invention is based in part on the discovery of immunogenic Mycoplasma molecules and formulations comprising combinations of Mycoplasma antigens that stimulate an immune response in a subject of interest. These molecules can be provided in an isolated form, as discrete components or as fusion proteins, and may be conjugated to a carrier that enhances immunogenicity of the antigens. The antigens can be incorporated into a pharmaceutical composition, such as a vaccine composition.

In particular, the inventors herein have identified numerous protein antigens in Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides (Mmm) and Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri (Mmc) as described in the examples. Immunization of cattle with subunit vaccines comprising several M. mycoides antigens elicited significant humoral responses and conferred protection against contagious bovine pleuropneumonia using an Mmm experimental challenge in cattle.

The present invention thus provides immunological compositions and methods for treating and/or preventing Mycoplasma disease. Immunization can be achieved by any of the methods known in the art including, but not limited to, use of vaccines containing one or more isolated Mycoplasma antigens or fusion proteins comprising multiple antigens, or by passive immunization using antibodies directed against the antigens. Such methods are described in detail below. Moreover, the antigens and antibodies described herein can be used for detecting the presence of Mycoplasma bacteria, for example in a biological sample.

The vaccines are useful in vertebrate subj ects that are susceptible to Mycoplasma infection, including without limitation, animals such as farm animals, including cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and horses; domestic mammals such as dogs and cats; non-domestic animals such as elk, deer, mink and feral cats; humans; avian species, and other species that are raised for meat or egg production such as, but not limited to, chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, pheasant, emu and ostrich.

In order to further an understanding of the invention, a more detailed discussion is provided below regarding Mycoplasma antigens, production thereof, compositions comprising the same, and methods of using such compositions in the treatment or prevention of infection, as well as in the diagnosis of infection.

A. Mycoplasma Antigens

Antigens for use in the subject compositions can be derived from any of the several Mycoplasma species and subspecies that cause infection, including without limitation, M. gallisepticum; M. genitalium; M. haemofelis; M. hominis; M. hyopneumoniae; M. laboratorium; M. ovipneumoniae; M. pneumoniae; M. fermentans; M. hyorhinis; M. bovis; M. pulmonis; M. penetrans; M. arthritidis; M. hyponeumoniae; M. agalactiea; M. mycoides; M. arginini; M. adleri; M. agassizii; M. alkalesens; M. alligatoris; M. amphoriforme; M. anatis; M. anseris; M. auris; M. bovigenitalium; M. bovirhinis; M. bovoculi; M. buccale; M. buteonis; M. californicum; M. canadense; M. canis; M. capricolum; M. caviae; M. cavipharyngis; M. citelli; M. cloacale; M. coccoides; M. collis; M. columbinasale; M. columbinum; M. columborale; M. conjunctivae; M. corogypsi; M. cottewii; M. cricetuli; M. crocodyli; M. cynos; M. dispar; M. edwardii; M. elephantis; M. ellychniae; M. equigenitalium; M. equirhinis; M. falconis; M. fastidiosum; M. faucium; M. felifacium; M. feliminutum; M. flocculare; M. gallinaceum; M. gallinarum; M. gallopavonis; M. gaeteae; M. glycophilium; M gypis; M. haemocanis; M. haemofelis; M. haemomuris; M. haemosuis; M. hypopharyngis; M hyosynoviae; M. iguanae; M. imitans; M. indiense; M. iners; M. iowae; M. lacutcae; M. lagogenitalium; M. leachii; M. leonicptivi; M. leopharyngis; M. lipofaciens; M. lipophilum; M. lucivorax; M. luminosum; M. maculosum; M. melaleucae; M. meleagridis; M. microti; M. moatsii; M. mobile; M. molare; M. muscosicanis; M. muris; M. mustelae; M. neophronis; M. neurolyticvum; M. opalescens; M. orale; M. ovipneumoniae; M. ovis; M. oxoniensis; M. phocae; M. phocicerebrale; M. phocidae; M. phocirhinis; M. pirum; M. primatum; M. pullorum; M. putrefaciens; M. salivarium; M. simbae; M. spermatophilum; M. spumans; M. sturni; M. sualvi; M. subdolum; M. suis; M. synoviae; M. testudineum; M. testudinis; M. verecunum; M. wenyonii; M. yeatsii.

The following species use humans as a primary host: M. amphoriforme; M. buccale; M. faucium; M. fermentans; M. genitalium; M. hominis; M. lipophilum\M. orale; M. penetrans; M. pirum; M. pneumoniae; M. primatum; M. salivarium; M. spermatophilum Several species of Mycoplasma are frequently detected in different types of cancer cells, including without limitation M. fermentans; M. genitalium; M. hyorhinis; M and penetrans. M. pneumoniae is the etiologic agent of primary atypical pneumonia and is also responsible for many respiratory tract infections, such as tracheobronchitis, bronchiolitis, pharyngitis and croup, especially in older children and young adults and in elderly populations. M. genitalium, is believed to be involved in pelvic inflammatory diseases.

M. mycoides is found in cows and goats, and causes lung disease, such as contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP). M. mycoides is part of the Mycoplasma mycoides cluster, a group of closely related infectious mycoplasmas. The cluster comprises several species and subspecies including M. mycoides subsp. mycoides biotype Small Colony (MmmSC); M. mycoides subsp. mycoides biotype Large Colony (MmmLC); M. mycoides subsp. capri (Mmc); M. capricolum subsp. capricolum (Mcc); M. capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae (Mccp); and Mycoplasma sp. ‘bovine group 7’ (MBG7).

M. bovis is also found in cows and can cause pneumonia, mastitis, and arthritis in cattle. Its etiological role has also been associated with otitis, keratoconjunctivitis, synovitis, and reproductive disorders in cows and bulls. Animals infected with M. bovis have depressed immune responses and can exhibit signs of infection such as fever, depression, anorexia, labored breathing, nasal and ocular discharge, coughing, sneezing, gasping, grunting, lameness and swollen joints, mastitis, middle ear infections, abortions, recumbence and death.

M. hyopneumoniae causes enzootic pneumonia, an economically important and highly prevalent disease in pigs. M. hyosynoviae lives in the upper respiratory track of pigs and invades the joints and tendon sheaths of susceptible animals and causes lameness and swelling (arthritis).

M. ovipneumoniae causes respiratory infections in sheep and M. cynos causes canine infectious respiratory disease (CIRD) in dogs. M. canis, M. spumans, and M. maculosum can cause mycoplasmosis in dogs and M. haemofelis causes infections in cats. M. gallisepticum (MG) is an infectious respiratory pathogen of gallinaceous birds such as chicken and turkey.

Although the following discussion is with respect to antigens derived from Mmm and Mmc, the corresponding antigens from any of the above species that cause disease can also be used in immunogenic compositions to treat Mycoplasma infection as it is readily apparent from the discussion herein that Mycoplasma causes a wide variety of disorders in a number of animals.

Table 1 and Table 4 show antigens for stimulating immune responses against M. mycoides, and in particular, against Mmm and Mmc. In the tables, Mmm proteins are indicated as MSC_xxxx and Mmc proteins are indicated as YP_0044xxxxxxxx. 1. Table 1 shows individual Mmm and Mmc proteins, while Table 4 shows Mmm and Mmc fusion proteins, as well as conjugates of the fusions and individual Mmm and Mmc proteins with an immunogenic carrier. It is to be understood that when referring to an Mmm or an Mmc protein from Table 4, the individual Mmm and Mmc proteins in the fusions and the conjugates are intended. In this regard, the boundaries of the individual Mmm and Mmc proteins present in the fusions, as well as the Mmm and Mmc proteins present in the conjugates, are described above.

The subject compositions can include one or more of these antigens, such as 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc., or antigens from other Mycoplasma species and subspecies that correspond to the Mmm and Mmc antigens listed in Tables 1 and 4. Moreover, the antigens present in the compositions can include the full-length amino acid sequences, or fragments or variants of these sequences so long as the antigens stimulate an immunological response, preferably, a protective immune response. Thus, the antigens can be provided with deletions from the N-terminus, including deletions of the native signal sequence, or can include a heterologous signal sequence, no signal sequence at all, or only a portion of the signal sequence. For example, the amino acid sequences for MSC_0136 (SEQ ID NO:2, FIG. 11B); MSC_0957 (SEQ ID NO:4, FIG. 12B); MSC_0499 (SEQ ID NO:6, FIG. 13B); MSC_0431 (SEQ ID NO:8, FIG. 14B); MSC_0776 (SEQ ID NO:10, FIG. 15B); YP_004400559.1 (SEQ ID NO: 10, FIG. 16B); YP_004399807.1 (SEQ ID NO:14, FIG. 17B); MSC_0816 (SEQ ID NO:16, FIG. 18B); MSC_0775 (SEQ ID NO:20, FIG. 20B); YP_004400127.1 (SEQ ID NO:22, FIG. 21B) and in the fusion depicted in FIG. 25B (SEQ ID NO:51) and FIG. 27B (SEQ ID NO:55); and YP_004400610.1 (SEQ ID NO:28, FIG. 24B) and the fusion depicted in FIG. 26B (SEQ ID NO:53) and FIG. 28B (SEQ ID NO:57), lack all or a portion of the N-terminal signal sequence. Similarly, the amino acid sequences for YP_00400580.1 in the fusion depicted in FIG. 26B (SEQ ID NO:53) and in FIG. 28B (SEQ ID NO:57); and the MSC_0775 in the fusion depicted in FIG. 33B (SEQ ID NO:67), lack an additional N-terminal truncation of 20 amino acids as compared to the YP_00400580.1 and MSC_0775 sequences shown in SEQ ID NO:26 and SEQ ID NO:20, respectively.

Additionally, the antigens can include deletions from the C-terminal portion of the molecule, such as deletions of all or a portion of the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains, if present. For example, YP_004400580.1 (SEQ ID NO:26, FIG. 23B) includes a deletion of approximately 15 amino acids from the C-terminus.

Furthermore, internal deletions can be present so long as the molecule remains immunogenic. Moreover, the molecules optionally include an N-terminal methionine. In this regard, YP_004400559.1 (SEQ ID NO:12, FIG. 16B); YP_004399807.1 (SEQ ID NO:14, FIG. 17B); YP_004400127.1 (SEQ ID NO:22, FIG. 21B); YP_004399790.1 (SEQ ID NO:24, FIG. 22B); YP_004400580.1 (SEQ ID NO:26, FIG. 23B); YP_004400610.1 (SEQ ID NO:28, FIG. 24B) include an N-terminal methionine; while MSC_0136 (SEQ ID NO:2, FIG. 11B); MSC_0957 (SEQ ID NO:4, FIG. 12B); MSC_0499 (SEQ ID NO:6, FIG. 13B); MSC_0431 (SEQ ID NO:8, FIG. 14B); MSC_0776 (SEQ ID NO:10, FIG. 15B); MSC_0816 (SEQ ID NO:16, FIG. 18B); MSC_0160 (SEQ ID NO:18, FIG. 19B); MSC_0775 (SEQ ID NO:20, FIG. 20B); YP_004399790.1 (SEQ ID NO:24, FIG. 22B); YP_004400580.1 (SEQ ID NO:26, FIG. 23B) lack an N-terminal methionine.

As explained above, any of the M. mycoides antigens listed in Tables 1 and 4, as well as variants thereof, such as proteins with substantial sequence identity thereto, e.g., sequences that exhibit at least about 50% sequence identity, such as at least about 75% sequence identity, e.g., at least about 80%-85% sequence identity, for example at least about 90% sequence identity, such as at least about 95%-99% sequence identity or more, over a defined length of the molecules, or any integer within these values, will find use herein. Additionally, the corresponding antigens from a different species or subspecies, can be used in combination in the immunogenic compositions described herein, to provide protection against a broad range of Mycoplasma bacteria.

The compositions can include Mycoplasma antigens from more than one species or subspecies. For instance, the compositions can include one or more Mmm antigens, one or more Mmc antigens, both Mmm and Mmc antigens, along with one or more Mycoplasma antigens from any of the other species/subspecies listed above. Thus, each of the components of a subunit composition or fusion protein can be obtained from the same Mycoplasma species, or from different Mycoplasma species.

Moreover, if Mmm and/or Mmc antigens are present, they can include various combinations from any of the vaccine groups listed in Table 1, such as from Groups A, B, C, D, E, G, H, I, J, K, M, N, O and/or P. In some embodiments, two or more antigens selected from Group A (SEQ ID NOS:2, 4, 6, 8, 10), Group C (SEQ ID NOS:12, 14, 16, 18, 20) and/or Group N (SEQ ID NOS:22, 24, 26, 28) are present.

The immunogenic compositions can include discrete antigens, i.e., isolated and purified antigens provided separately, or can include fusions of the desired antigens. The fusions will include two or more immunogenic Mycoplasma proteins, such as 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc., e.g., two or more antigens listed in Tables 1 and 4, or antigens from other Mycoplasma species and subspecies that correspond to the Mmm and Mmc antigens listed in Tables 1 and 4. Moreover, as explained above, the antigens present in the fusions can include the full-length amino acid sequences, or fragments or variants of these sequences so long as the antigens stimulate an immunological response, preferably, a protective immune response. In any event, at least one epitope from these antigens will be present. In some embodiments, the fusions will include repeats of desired epitopes. As explained above, the antigens present in fusions can be derived from the same Mycoplasma species or subspecies, or from different species or subspecies, to provide increased protection against a broad range of Mycoplasma bacteria.

In certain embodiments, the fusions include multiple antigens, such as more than one epitope from a particular Mycoplasma antigen, and/or epitopes from more than one Mycoplasma antigen. The epitopes can be provided in the full-length antigen sequence, or in a partial sequence that includes the epitope. The epitopes can be from the same Mycoplasma species and subspecies, or different Mycoplasma species and subspecies. Additionally, the epitopes can be derived from the same Mycoplasma protein or from different Mycoplasma proteins from the same or different Mycoplasma species and subspecies.

More particularly, the fusions (also termed “chimeras” herein) may comprise multiple epitopes, a number of different Mycoplasma proteins from the same or different species and subspecies, as well as multiple or tandem repeats of selected Mycoplasma sequences, multiple or tandem repeats of selected Mycoplasma epitopes, or any combination thereof. Epitopes may be identified using techniques as described above, or fragments of Mycoplasma proteins may be tested for immunogenicity and active fragments used in compositions in lieu of the entire polypeptide. Fusions may also include the full-length sequence.

The antigen sequences present in the fusions may be separated by spacers. A selected spacer sequence may encode a wide variety of moieties of one or more amino acids in length. Selected spacer groups may also provide enzyme cleavage sites so that the expressed chimera can be processed by proteolytic enzymes in vivo to yield a number of peptides.

For example, amino acids can be used as spacer sequences. Such spacers will typically include from 1-500 amino acids, such as 1-100 amino acids, e.g., 1-50 amino acids, such as 1-25 amino acids, 1-10 amino acids, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 1-6, amino acids, or any integer between 1-500. The spacer amino acids may be the same or different between the various antigens. Particularly preferred amino acids for use as spacers are amino acids with small side groups, such as serine, alanine, glycine and valine, various combinations of amino acids or repeats of the same amino acid. For example, linker sequences including a particular amino acid or combination of amino acids, such as glycine, or glycine-serine, etc. may include 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 . . . 20 . . . 25 . . . 30, etc. of such repeats.

Although particular fusions are exemplified herein which include spacer sequences, it is also to be understood that one or more of the antigens present in the fusion constructs can be directly adjacent to another antigen, without an intervening spacer sequence.

Specific Mycoplasma fusion proteins include, but are not limited to, those listed in Table 4. The nucleotide and amino acid sequences of these particular Mycoplasma fusion proteins are shown in FIGS. 25A-25B (SEQ ID NOS:50 and 51); FIGS. 26A-26B (SEQ ID NOS:52 and 53); FIGS. 27A-27B (SEQ ID NOS:54 and 55); FIGS. 28A-28B (SEQ ID NOS:56 and 57); FIGS. 37A-37B (SEQ ID NOS:74 and 74); and FIGS. 38A-38B (SEQ ID NOS:76 and 77). However, it is to be understood that fusion proteins for use herein can be derived from any number of Mycoplasma antigens.

In order to enhance immunogenicity of the Mycoplasma proteins and fusions of multiple antigen molecules, they may be conjugated with a carrier. By “conjugated” is meant that the protein and fusions of interest may be linked to the carrier via non-covalent interactions, such as by electrostatic forces, or by covalent bonds, and the like. Thus, the carrier may be linked to the protein of interest via recombinant production, or the protein may be synthetically or chemically linked to a carrier after or during production. By “carrier” is meant any molecule which when associated with an antigen of interest, imparts immunogenicity to the antigen. Examples of suitable carriers include large, slowly metabolized macromolecules such as: proteins; polysaccharides, such as sepharose, agarose, cellulose, cellulose beads and the like; polymeric amino acids such as polyglutamic acid, polylysine, and the like; amino acid copolymers; inactive virus particles; bacterial toxins such as tetanus toxoid, serum albumins, keyhole limpet hemocyanin, thyroglobulin, ovalbumin, sperm whale myoglobin, and other proteins well known to those skilled in the art. Other suitable carriers for the antigens of the present invention include VP6 polypeptides of rotaviruses, or functional fragments thereof, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,651.

These carriers may be used in their native form or their functional group content may be modified by, for example, succinylation of lysine residues or reaction with Cys-thiolactone. A sulfhydryl group may also be incorporated into the carrier (or antigen) by, for example, reaction of amino functions with 2-iminothiolane or the N-hydroxysuccinimide ester of 3-(4-dithiopyridyl propionate. Suitable carriers may also be modified to incorporate spacer arms (such as hexamethylene diamine or other bifunctional molecules of similar size) for attachment of peptides.

Mycoplasma proteins and multiple antigen fusion molecules can also be conjugated with a member of the RTX family of toxins, such as a Pasteurella haemolytica leukotoxin (LKT) polypeptide. See, e.g., International Publication No. WO 93/08290, published 29 Apr. 1993, as well as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,238,823, 5,273,889, 5,723,129, 5,837,268, 5,422,110,5,708,155, 5,969,126, 6,022,960, 6,521,746 and 6,797,272, all incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Leukotoxin polypeptide carriers are derived from proteins belonging to the family of RTX molecules characterized by the carboxy-terminus consensus amino acid sequence Gly-Gly-X-Gly-X-Asp (SEQ ID NO:78, Highlander et al., DNA (1989) 8:15-28), where X is Lys, Asp, Val or Asn. Such proteins include, among others, leukotoxins derived from P. haemolytica and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, as well as E. coli alpha hemolysin (Strathdee et al., Infect. Immun. (1987) 55:3233-3236; Lo, Can. J. Vet. Res. (1990) 54:S33-S35; Welch, Mol. Microbiol. (1991) 5:521-528). This family of toxins is known as the “RTX” family of toxins (Lo, Can. J. Vet. Res. (1990) 54:S33-S35). The nucleotide sequences and corresponding amino acid sequences for several leukotoxins are known. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,957,739 and 5,055,400; Lo et al., Infect. Immun. (1985) 50:667-67; Lo et al., Infect. Immun. (1987) 55:1987-1996; Strathdee et al., Infect. Immun. (1987) 55:3233-3236; Highlander et al., DNA (1989) 8:15-28; Welch, Mol. Microbiol. (1991) 5:521-528. Particular examples of immunogenic leukotoxin polypeptides for use herein include LKT 342, LKT 352, LKT 111, LKT 326 and LKT 101 which are described in greater detail below.

By “LKT 352” is meant a protein derived from the lktA gene present in plasmid pAA352 and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,657, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. LKT 352, also termed “LtxA” herein, has an N-terminal truncation of the native P. haemolytica leukotoxin full-length sequence. Thus, the gene in plasmid pAA352 encodes a truncated leukotoxin, having 914 amino acids which lacks the cytotoxic portion of the molecule. The nucleotide and amino acid sequences of LKT 352 are shown in FIG. 41 (SEQ ID NOS:82 and 83). Note that the amino acid sequence depicted in FIG. 41 includes 10 amino acids from vector pAA352 on the 5′-end and two amino acids from vector pAA352 on the 3′-end. These flanking sequences can be included in the carrier molecule or deleted and the term “LKT 352” refers to both forms.

By “LKT 111” is meant a leukotoxin polypeptide which is derived from the lktA gene present in plasmid pCB111. The plasmid and nucleotide sequence of this gene and the corresponding amino acid sequence are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,723,129 and 5,969,126, incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The gene encodes a shortened version of leukotoxin which was developed from the recombinant leukotoxin gene present in plasmid pAA352 by removal of an internal DNA fragment of approximately 1300 bp in length. The LKT 111 polypeptide has an estimated molecular weight of 52 kDa (as compared to the 99 kDa LKT 352 polypeptide), retains the ability to act as a carrier molecule, and contains convenient restriction sites for use in producing the fusion proteins of the present invention.

By “LKT 101” is meant a leukotoxin polypeptide which is derived from the lktA gene present in plasmid pAA101. The plasmid and sequence of LKT 101 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,657 (see FIG. 3 therein), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The LKT 101 polypeptide is expressed from a C-terminally truncated form of the lktA gene which contains the 5′ end of the gene up to the unique Pst1 restriction endonuclease site. Thus, LKT 101 includes the first 377 amino acids of native, full-length, P. haemolytica leukotoxin.

By “LKT 342” is meant a leukotoxin polypeptide which is derived from the lktA gene present in plasmid pAA342, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,657, incorporated herein in its entirety. LKT 342 has an N-terminal and C-terminal truncation of the native leukotoxin sequence and includes amino acids 38-334 of native leukotoxin.

The various LKT molecules described above are representative and other leukotoxin and RTX molecules that enhance the immunogenicity of the Mycoplasma proteins and fusions will also find use herein. Moreover, the carrier molecules need not be physically derived from the sequence present in the corresponding plasmids but may be generated in any manner, including for example, by chemical synthesis or recombinant production, as described below.

Additionally, the Mycoplasma proteins and multiple antigen fusion molecules can be fused to either the carboxyl or amino terminals or both of the carrier molecule, or at sites internal to the carrier.

As explained above, carriers can be physically conjugated to the proteins of interest, using standard coupling reactions. Alternatively, chimeric molecules can be prepared recombinantly for use in the present invention, such as by fusing a gene encoding a suitable polypeptide carrier to one or more copies of a gene, or fragment thereof, encoding for selected Mycoplasma proteins or Mycoplasma multiple antigen fusion molecules.

Specific leukotoxin/M. mycoides conjugates are exemplified herein. However, is to be understood that Mycoplasma antigens and fusions of these antigens can be conjugated with any suitable carrier molecule if desired. The nucleotide and amino acid sequences of exemplary conjugates between M. mycoides constructs and a leukotoxin carrier are shown in FIGS. 27A-27B (SEQ ID NOS:54 and 55); FIGS. 28A-28B (SEQ ID NOS:56 and 57); FIGS. 29A-29B (SEQ ID NOS:58 and 59); FIGS. 30A-30B (SEQ ID NOS:60 and 61); FIGS. 31A-31B (SEQ ID NOS:62 and 63); FIGS. 32A-32B (SEQ ID NOS:64 and 65); FIGS. 33A-33B (SEQ ID NOS:66 and 67); FIGS. 34A-34B (SEQ ID NOS:68 and 69); FIGS. 35A-35B (SEQ ID NOS:70 and 71); FIGS. 36A-36B (SEQ ID NOS:72 and 73); FIGS. 37A-37B (SEQ ID NOS:74 and 75); FIGS. 38A-38B (SEQ ID NOS:76 and 77); FIGS. 39A-39B (SEQ ID NOS:78 and 79); and FIGS. 40A-40B (SEQ ID NOS:80 and 81).

Preferably, the above-described antigens and fusions, are produced recombinantly. A polynucleotide encoding these proteins can be introduced into an expression vector which can be expressed in a suitable expression system. A variety of bacterial, yeast, mammalian and insect expression systems are available in the art and any such expression system can be used. Optionally, a polynucleotide encoding these proteins can be translated in a cell-free translation system. Such methods are well known in the art. The proteins also can be constructed by solid phase protein synthesis.

If desired, the fusion proteins, or the individual components of these proteins, also can contain other amino acid sequences, such as amino acid linkers or signal sequences, either native or heterologous, as well as ligands useful in protein purification, such as glutathione-S-transferase and staphylococcal protein A.

B. Mycoplasma Polynucleotides

Mycoplasma polynucleotides encoding the Mycoplasma antigens, fusions of these antigens or epitopes therefrom, as well as conjugates of these antigens and fusions with carrier molecules, for use in the subject compositions, can be derived from any of the Mycoplasma species and subspecies described above. Although the following discussion is with respect to polynucleotides encoding antigens derived from Mmm and Mmc, the corresponding polynucleotides from any of the above species that cause disease can also be used to produce antigens for use in immunogenic compositions to treat Mycoplasma infection as it is readily apparent from the discussion herein that Mycoplasma causes a wide variety of disorders in a number of animals.

Tables 1 and 4 show polynucleotides encoding antigens, fusions and conjugates for stimulating immune responses against Mmm and Mmc. The polynucleotides described in Tables 1 and 4 have been modified for expression in E. coli and thus differ from previously reported and naturally occurring Mmm and Mmc polynucleotide sequences. Additionally, several genomic sequences for various Mycoplasma strains, species and subspecies, including Mmm and Mmc are known and reported in the NCBI database, including, but not limited to NCBI accession nos. NC_005364.2; BX293980.2; CP002107.1; CP010267.1; NC_021025.1; NZ_LAEW01000001.1; CP00162.1; CP001668.1; NC 015431.1; FQ377874.1; NZ_CP00162.1; CP002027.1; FR668087.1; FM864216.2; CP001872.1; AE015450.2; NZ_CP012387.1; CP001668.1; NZ_CP00162.1; NC_015431.1; FQ_3777874.1, and sequences from these species and subspecies that correspond to the Mmm and Mmc antigens described herein can be derived therefrom.

The polynucleotide sequences encoding Mycoplasma antigens will encode the full-length amino acid sequences, or fragments or variants of these sequences so long as the resulting antigens stimulate an immunological response, preferably, a protective immune response. Thus, the polynucleotides can encode antigens with deletions from the N-terminus, including deletions of the native signal sequence, or antigens with a heterologous signal sequence, no signal sequence at all, or only a portion of the signal sequence. Moreover, the polynucleotides can encode antigens with deletions from the C-terminal portion of the molecule, such as deletions of all or a portion of the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains, if present, as well as internal deletions, so long as the molecule remains immunogenic. The encoded molecules optionally include an N-terminal methionine. Such molecules are described in detail above.

Preferably, the antigens, fusions and conjugates described above are produced recombinantly using these polynucleotides. Accordingly, once coding sequences for the desired antigens have been isolated or synthesized, they can be cloned into any suitable vector or replicon for expression. Numerous cloning vectors are known to those of skill in the art, and the selection of an appropriate cloning vector is a matter of choice. A variety of bacterial, yeast, plant, mammalian and insect expression systems are available in the art and any such expression system can be used. Optionally, a polynucleotide encoding these proteins can be translated in a cell-free translation system. Such methods are well known in the art.

Examples of recombinant DNA vectors for cloning and host cells which they can transform include the bacteriophage λ (E. coli), pBR322 (E. coli), pACYC177 (E. coli), pKT230 (gram-negative bacteria), pGV1106 (gram-negative bacteria), pLAFR1 (gram-negative bacteria), pME290 (non-E. coli gram-negative bacteria), pHV14 (E. coli and Bacillus subtilis), pBD9 (Bacillus), pIJ61 (Streptomyces), pUC6 (Streptomyces), YIp5 (Saccharomyces), YCpl9 (Saccharomyces) and bovine papilloma virus (mammalian cells). See, generally, DNA Cloning: Vols. I & II, supra; Sambrook et al., supra; B. Perbal, supra.

Insect cell expression systems, such as baculovirus systems, can also be used and are known to those of skill in the art and described in, e.g., Summers and Smith, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin No. 1555 (1987). Plant expression systems can also be used to produce the immunogenic proteins. Generally, such systems use virus-based vectors to transfect plant cells with heterologous genes. For a description of such systems see, e.g., Porta et al., Mol. Biotech. (1996) 5:209-221; and Hackiand et al., Arch. Virol. (1994) 139:1-22.

Viral systems, such as a vaccinia based infection/transfection system, as described in Tomei et al., J. Virol. (1993) 67:4017-4026 and Selby et al., J. Gen. Virol. (1993) 74:1103-1113, will also find use with the present invention. In this system, cells are first transfected in vitro with a vaccinia virus recombinant that encodes the bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase. This polymerase displays exquisite specificity in that it only transcribes templates bearing T7 promoters. Following infection, cells are transfected with the DNA of interest, driven by a T7 promoter. The polymerase expressed in the cytoplasm from the vaccinia virus recombinant transcribes the transfected DNA into RNA which is then translated into protein by the host translational machinery. The method provides for high level, transient, cytoplasmic production of large quantities of RNA and its translation product(s).

The coding sequence can be placed under the control of a promoter, ribosome binding site (for bacterial expression) and, optionally, an operator (collectively referred to herein as “control elements”), so that the DNA sequence encoding the desired antigen is transcribed into RNA in the host cell transformed by a vector containing this expression construction. The coding sequence may or may not contain a signal peptide or leader sequence. Leader sequences can be removed by the host in post-translational processing. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,431,739; 4,425,437; 4,338,397.

Other regulatory sequences may also be desirable which allow for regulation of expression of the protein sequences relative to the growth of the host cell. Such regulatory sequences are known to those of skill in the art, and examples include those which cause the expression of a gene to be turned on or off in response to a chemical or physical stimulus, including the presence of a regulatory compound. Other types of regulatory elements may also be present in the vector, for example, enhancer sequences.

The control sequences and other regulatory sequences may be ligated to the coding sequence prior to insertion into a vector. Alternatively, the coding sequence can be cloned directly into an expression vector which already contains the control sequences and an appropriate restriction site.

In some cases it may be necessary to modify the coding sequence so that it may be attached to the control sequences with the appropriate orientation; i.e., to maintain the proper reading frame. It may also be desirable to produce mutants or analogs of the immunogenic proteins. Mutants or analogs may be prepared by the deletion of a portion of the sequence encoding the protein, by insertion of a sequence, and/or by substitution of one or more nucleotides within the sequence. Techniques for modifying nucleotide sequences, such as site-directed mutagenesis, are well known to those skilled in the art. See, e.g., Sambrook et al., supra; DNA Cloning, Vols. I and II, supra; Nucleic Acid Hybridization, supra.

The expression vector is then used to transform an appropriate host cell. A number of mammalian cell lines are known in the art and include immortalized cell lines available from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), such as, but not limited to, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, HeLa cells, baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells, monkey kidney cells (COS), human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (e.g., Hep G2), as well as others. Similarly, bacterial hosts such as E. coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Streptococcus spp., will find use with the present expression constructs. Yeast hosts useful in the present invention include inter alia, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida albicans, Candida maltosa, Hansenula polymorpha, Kluyveromyces fragilis, Kluyveromyces lactis, Pichia guillerimondii, Pichia pastoris, Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Yarrowia lipolytica. Insect cells for use with baculovirus expression vectors include, inter alia, Aedes aegypti, Autographa californica, Bombyx mori, Drosophila melanogaster, Spodoptera frugiperda, and Trichoplusia ni.

Depending on the expression system and host selected, the proteins of the present invention are produced by growing host cells transformed by an expression vector described above under conditions whereby the protein of interest is expressed. The selection of the appropriate growth conditions is within the skill of the art. If the proteins are not secreted, the cells are then disrupted, using chemical, physical or mechanical means, which lyse the cells yet keep the proteins substantially intact. Following disruption of the cells, cellular debris is removed, generally by centrifugation. Whether produced intracellularly or secreted, the protein can be further purified, using standard purification techniques such as but not limited to, column chromatography, ion-exchange chromatography, size-exclusion chromatography, electrophoresis, HPLC, immunoadsorbent techniques, affinity chromatography, immunoprecipitation, and the like.

C. Antibodies

The antigens of the present invention can be used to produce antibodies for therapeutic (e.g., passive immunization), diagnostic and purification purposes. These antibodies may be polyclonal or monoclonal antibody preparations, monospecific antisera, or may be hybrid or chimeric antibodies, such as humanized antibodies, altered antibodies, F(ab′)₂ fragments, F(ab) fragments, Fv fragments, single-domain antibodies, dimeric or trimeric antibody fragment constructs, minibodies, or functional fragments thereof which bind to the antigen in question. Antibodies are produced using techniques well known to those of skill in the art and disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,011,308; 4,722,890; 4,016,043; 3,876,504; 3,770,380; and 4,372,745.

For subjects known to have a Mycoplasma-related disease, an anti-Mycoplasma-antigen antibody may have therapeutic benefit and can be used to confer passive immunity to the subject in question. Alternatively, antibodies can be used in diagnostic applications, described further below, as well as for purification of the antigen of interest.

D. Compositions

The Mycoplasma antigens or antibodies, can be formulated into compositions for delivery to subjects for eliciting an immune response, such as for inhibiting infection. Compositions of the invention may comprise or be co-administered with non-Mycoplasma antigens or with a combination of Mycoplasma antigens, as described above. Methods of preparing such formulations are described in, e.g., Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, Mack Publishing Company, Easton, Pa., 18 Edition, 1990. The compositions of the present invention can be prepared as injectables, either as liquid solutions or suspensions. Solid forms suitable for solution in or suspension in liquid vehicles prior to injection may also be prepared. The preparation may also be emulsified or the active ingredient encapsulated in liposome vehicles. The active immunogenic ingredient is generally mixed with a compatible pharmaceutical vehicle, such as, for example, water, saline, dextrose, glycerol, ethanol, or the like, and combinations thereof. In addition, if desired, the vehicle may contain minor amounts of auxiliary substances such as wetting or emulsifying agents and pH buffering agents.

Adjuvants which enhance the effectiveness of the composition may also be added to the formulation. Such adjuvants include any compound or combination of compounds that act to increase an immune response to a Mycoplasma antigen or combination of antigens, thus reducing the quantity of antigen necessary in the vaccine, and/or the frequency of injection necessary in order to generate an adequate immune response. Adjuvants may include for example, muramyl dipeptides, AVRIDINE, aqueous adjuvants such as aluminum hydroxide, dimethyldioctadecyl ammonium bromide (DDA), oils, oil-in-water emulsions, water-in-oil emulsions, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,279,163, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, saponins, cytokines.

Also useful herein is a triple adjuvant formulation as described in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 9,061,001, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The triple adjuvant formulation includes a host defense peptide, in combination with a polyanionic polymer such as a polyphosphazene, and a nucleic acid sequence possessing immunostimulatory properties (ISS), such as an oligodeoxynucleotide molecule with or without a CpG motif (a cytosine followed by guanosine and linked by a phosphate bond) or the synthetic dsRNA analog poly(I:C).

Examples of host defense peptides for use in the combination adjuvant, as well as individually with the antigen include, without limitation, HH2 (VQLRIRVAVIRA, SEQ ID NO:30); 1002 (VQRWLIVWRIRK, SEQ ID NO:31); 1018 (VRLIVAVRIWRR, SEQ ID NO:32); Indolicidin (ILPWKWPWWPWRR, SEQ ID NO:33); HH111 (ILKWKWPWWPWRR, SEQ ID NO:34); HH113 (ILPWKKPWWPWRR, SEQ ID NO:35); HH970 (ILKWKWPWWKWRR, SEQ ID NO:36); HH1010 (ILRWKWRWWRWRR, SEQ ID NO:37); Nisin Z (Ile-Dhb-Ala-Ile-Dha-Leu-Ala-Abu-Pro-Gly-Ala-Lys-Abu-Gly-Ala-Leu-Met-Gly-Ala-Asn-Met-Lys-Abu-Ala-Abu-Ala-Asn-Ala-Ser-Ile-Asn-Val-Dha-Lys, SEQ ID NO:38); JK1 (VFLRRIRVIVIR; SEQ ID NO:39); JK2 (VFWRRIRVWVIR; SEQ ID NO:40); JK3 (VQLRAIRVRVIR; SEQ ID NO:41); JK4 (VQLRRIRVWVIR; SEQ ID NO:42); JK5 (VQWRAIRVRVIR; SEQ ID NO:43); and JK6 (VQWRRIRVWVIR; SEQ ID NO:44). Any of the above peptides, as well as fragments and analogs thereof, that display the appropriate biological activity, such as the ability to modulate an immune response, such as to enhance an immune response to a co-delivered antigen, will find use herein.

Exemplary, non-limiting examples of ISSs for use in the triple adjuvant composition, or individually include, CpG oligonucleotides or non-CpG molecules. By “CpG oligonucleotide” or “CpG ODN” is meant an immunostimulatory nucleic acid containing at least one cytosine-guanine dinucleotide sequence (i.e., a 5′ cytidine followed by 3′ guanosine and linked by a phosphate bond) and which activates the immune system. An “unmethylated CpG oligonucleotide” is a nucleic acid molecule which contains an unmethylated cytosine-guanine dinucleotide sequence (i.e., an unmethylated 5′ cytidine followed by 3′ guanosine and linked by a phosphate bond) and which activates the immune system. A “methylated CpG oligonucleotide” is a nucleic acid which contains a methylated cytosine-guanine dinucleotide sequence (i.e., a methylated 5′ cytidine followed by a 3′ guanosine and linked by a phosphate bond) and which activates the immune system. CpG oligonucleotides are well known in the art and described in, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,194,388; 6,207,646; 6,214,806; 6,218,371; 6,239,116; and 6,339,068; PCT Publication No. WO 01/22990; PCT Publication No. WO 03/015711; US Publication No. 20030139364, which patents and publications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Examples of such CpG oligonucleotides include, without limitation, 5′TCCATGACGTTCCTGACGTT3′ (SEQ ID NO:45), termed CpG ODN 1826, a Class B CpG; 5′TCGTCGTTGTCGTTTTGTCGTT3′ (SEQ ID NO:29), termed CpG ODN 2007, a Class B CpG; 5′TCGTCGTTTTGTCGTTTTGTCGTT3′ (SEQ ID NO:46), also termed CPG 7909 or 10103, a Class B CpG; 5′ GGGGACGACGTCGTGGGGGGG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:47), termed CpG 8954, a Class A CpG; and 5′TCGTCGTTTTCGGCGCGCGCCG 3′ (SEQ ID NO:48), also termed CpG 2395 or CpG 10101, a Class C CpG. All of the foregoing class B and C molecules are fully phosphorothioated.

Non-CpG oligonucleotides for use in the present composition include the double stranded polyriboinosinic acid:polyribocytidylic acid, also termed poly(I:C); and a non-CpG oligonucleotide 5′AAAAAAGGTACCTAAATAGTATGTTTCTGAAA3′ (SEQ ID NO:49).

Polyanionic polymers for use in the triple combination adjuvants or alone include polyphosphazines. Typically, polyphosphazenes for use with the present adjuvant compositions will either take the form of a polymer in aqueous solution or a polymer microparticle, with or without encapsulated or adsorbed substances such as antigens or other adjuvants. For example, the polyphosphazene can be a soluble polyphosphazene, such as a polyphosphazene polyelectrolyte with ionized or ionizable pendant groups that contain, for example, carboxylic acid, sulfonic acid or hydroxyl moieties, and pendant groups that are susceptible to hydrolysis under conditions of use to impart biodegradable properties to the polymer. Such polyphosphazene polyelectrolytes are well known and described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,494,673; 5,562,909; 5,855,895; 6,015,563; and 6,261,573, incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Alternatively, polyphosphazene polymers in the form of cross-linked microparticles will also find use herein. Such cross-linked polyphosphazene polymer microparticles are well known in the art and described in, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,053,451; 5,149,543; 5,308,701; 5,494,682; 5,529,777; 5,807,757; 5,985,354; and 6,207,171, incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Examples of particular polyphosphazene polymers for use herein include poly[di(sodium carboxylatophenoxy)phosphazene] (PCPP) and poly(di-4-oxyphenylproprionate)phosphazene (PCEP), in various forms, such as the sodium salt, or acidic forms, as well as a polymer composed of varying percentages of PCPP or PCEP copolymer with hydroxyl groups, such as 90:10 PCPP/OH. Methods for synthesizing these compounds are known and described in the patents referenced above, as well as in Andrianov et al., Biomacromolecules (2004) 5:1999; Andrianov et al., Macromolecules (2004) 37:414; Mutwiri et al., Vaccine (2007) 25:1204.

Additional adjuvants include chitosan-based adjuvants, and any of the various saponins, oils, and other substances known in the art, such as AMPHIGEN™ which comprises de-oiled lecithin dissolved in an oil, usually light liquid paraffin. In vaccine preparations AMPHIGEN™ is dispersed in an aqueous solution or suspension of the immunizing antigen as an oil-in-water emulsion. Other adjuvants are LPS, bacterial cell wall extracts, bacterial DNA, synthetic oligonucleotides and combinations thereof (Schijns et al., Curr. Opi. Immunol. (2000) 12:456), Mycobacterial phlei (M. phlei) cell wall extract (MCWE) (U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,984), M. phlei DNA (M-DNA), M-DNA-M. phlei cell wall complex (MCC). For example, compounds which may serve as emulsifiers herein include natural and synthetic emulsifying agents, as well as anionic, cationic and nonionic compounds. Among the synthetic compounds, anionic emulsifying agents include, for example, the potassium, sodium and ammonium salts of lauric and oleic acid, the calcium, magnesium and aluminum salts of fatty acids (i.e., metallic soaps), and organic sulfonates such as sodium lauryl sulfate. Synthetic cationic agents include, for example, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, while synthetic nonionic agents are exemplified by glyceryl esters (e.g., glyceryl monostearate), polyoxyethylene glycol esters and ethers, and the sorbitan fatty acid esters (e.g., sorbitan monopalmitate) and their polyoxyethylene derivatives (e.g., polyoxyethylene sorbitan monopalmitate). Natural emulsifying agents include acacia, gelatin, lecithin and cholesterol.

Other suitable adjuvants can be formed with an oil component, such as a single oil, a mixture of oils, a water-in-oil emulsion, or an oil-in-water emulsion. The oil may be a mineral oil, a vegetable oil, or an animal oil. Mineral oil, or oil-in-water emulsions in which the oil component is mineral oil are preferred. Another oil component is the oil-in-water emulsion sold under the trade name of EMULSIGEN™, such as but not limited to EMULSIGEN PLUS™, comprising a light mineral oil as well as 0.05% formalin, and 30 μg/mL gentamicin as preservatives), available from MVP Laboratories, Ralston, Nebr. Also of use herein is an adjuvant known as “VSA3” which is a modified form of EMULSIGEN PLUS™ which includes DDA (see, U.S. Pat. No. 5,951,988, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). Suitable animal oils include, for example, cod liver oil, halibut oil, menhaden oil, orange roughy oil and shark liver oil, all of which are available commercially. Suitable vegetable oils, include, without limitation, canola oil, almond oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, olive oil, peanut oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, soybean oil, and the like.

Alternatively, a number of aliphatic nitrogenous bases can be used as adjuvants with the vaccine formulations. For example, known immunologic adjuvants include amines, quaternary ammonium compounds, guanidines, benzamidines and thiouroniums (Gall, D. (1966) Immunology 11:369 386). Specific compounds include dimethyldioctadecylammonium bromide (DDA) (available from Kodak) and N,N-dioctadecyl-N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)propanediamine (“AVRIDINE”). The use of DDA as an immunologic adjuvant has been described; see, e.g., the Kodak Laboratory Chemicals Bulletin 56(1):1 5 (1986); Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. 5(3):163 187 (1990); J. Controlled Release 7:123 132 (1988); Clin. Exp. Immunol. 78(2):256 262 (1989); J. Immunol. Methods 97(2):159 164 (1987); Immunology 58(2):245 250 (1986); and Int. Arch. Allergy Appl. Immunol. 68(3):201 208 (1982). AVRIDINE is also a well-known adjuvant. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,550, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, which describes the use of N,N-higher alkyl-N′,N′-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)propane diamines in general, and AVRIDINE in particular, as vaccine adjuvants. U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,267 to Babiuk, incorporarted herein by reference in its entirety, and Babiuk et al. (1986) Virology 159:57 66, also relate to the use of AVRIDINE as a vaccine adjuvant.

Moreover, the antigens may be conjugated to a carrier protein in order to enhance the immunogenicity thereof. The carrier molecule may be covalently conjugated to the antigen directly or via a linker. Such carriers and linkers are described in detail above. Any suitable conjugation reaction can be used, with any suitable linker where desired.

Once prepared, the formulations will contain a “pharmaceutically effective amount” of the active ingredient, that is, an amount capable of achieving the desired response in a subject to which the composition is administered. In the treatment and prevention of a Mycoplasma disease, a “pharmaceutically effective amount” would preferably be an amount which prevents, reduces or ameliorates the symptoms of the disease in question. The exact amount is readily determined by one skilled in the art using standard tests. The active ingredient will typically range from about 1% to about 95% (w/w) of the composition, or even higher or lower if appropriate. With the present formulations, 1 μg to 2 mg, such as 10 μg to 1 mg, e.g., g to 0.5 mg, 50 μg to 200 μg, or any values between these ranges of active ingredient per ml of injected solution should be adequate to treat or prevent infection when a dose of 1 to 5 ml per subject is administered. The quantity to be administered depends on the subject to be treated, the capacity of the subject's immune system to synthesize antibodies, and the degree of protection desired. Effective dosages can be readily established by one of ordinary skill in the art through routine trials establishing dose response curves.

The composition can be administered parenterally, e.g., by intratracheal, intramuscular, subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, intravenous injection, or by delivery directly to the lungs, such as through aerosol administration. The subject is administered at least one dose of the composition. Moreover, the subject may be administered as many doses as is required to bring about the desired biological effect.

Additional formulations which are suitable for other modes of administration include suppositories and, in some cases, aerosol, intranasal, oral formulations, and sustained release formulations. For suppositories, the vehicle composition will include traditional binders and carriers, such as, polyalkaline glycols, or triglycerides. Such suppositories may be formed from mixtures containing the active ingredient in the range of about 0.5% to about 10% (w/w), preferably about 1% to about 2%. Oral vehicles include such normally employed excipients as, for example, pharmaceutical grades of mannitol, lactose, starch, magnesium, stearate, sodium saccharin cellulose, magnesium carbonate, and the like. These oral vaccine compositions may be taken in the form of solutions, suspensions, tablets, pills, capsules, sustained release formulations, or powders, and contain from about 10% to about 95% of the active ingredient, preferably about 25% to about 70%.

Intranasal formulations will usually include vehicles that neither cause irritation to the nasal mucosa nor significantly disturb ciliary function. Diluents such as water, aqueous saline or other known substances can be employed with the subject invention. The nasal formulations may also contain preservatives such as, but not limited to, chlorobutanol and benzalkonium chloride. A surfactant may be present to enhance absorption of the subject antigens by the nasal mucosa.

Controlled or sustained release formulations are made by incorporating the antigen into carriers or vehicles such as liposomes, nonresorbable impermeable polymers such as ethylenevinyl acetate copolymers and HYTREL copolymers, swellable polymers such as hydrogels, resorbable polymers such as collagen and certain polyacids or polyesters such as those used to make resorbable sutures, polyphosphazenes, alginate, microparticles, gelatin nanospheres, chitosan nanoparticles, and the like. The antigens described herein can also be delivered using implanted mini-pumps, well known in the art.

Prime-boost methods can be employed where one or more compositions are delivered in a “priming” step and, subsequently, one or more compositions are delivered in a “boosting” step. In certain embodiments, priming and boosting with one or more compositions described herein is followed by additional boosting. The compositions delivered can include the same antigens, or different antigens, given in any order and via any administration route.

E. Tests to Determine the Efficacy of an Immune Response

One way of assessing efficacy of therapeutic treatment involves monitoring infection after administration of a composition of the invention. One way of assessing efficacy of prophylactic treatment involves monitoring immune responses against the Mycoplasma antigens in the compositions of the invention after administration of the composition. Another way of assessing the immunogenicity of the immunogenic compositions of the present invention is to screen the subject's sera by immunoblot. A positive reaction indicates that the subject has previously mounted an immune response to the Mycoplasma antigens, that is, the Mycoplasma protein is an immunogen. This method may also be used to identify epitopes.

Another way of checking efficacy of therapeutic treatment involves monitoring infection after administration of the compositions of the invention. One way of checking efficacy of prophylactic treatment involves monitoring immune responses both systemically (such as monitoring the level of IgG1 and IgG2a production) and mucosally (such as monitoring the level of IgA production) against the antigens in the compositions of the invention after administration of the composition. Typically, serum-specific antibody responses are determined post-immunization but pre-challenge whereas mucosal specific antibody body responses are determined post-immunization and post-challenge. The immunogenic compositions of the present invention can be evaluated in in vitro and in vivo animal models prior to host administration.

The efficacy of immunogenic compositions of the invention can also be determined in vivo by challenging animal models of infection with the immunogenic compositions. The immunogenic compositions may or may not be derived from the same strains as the challenge strains. Preferably the immunogenic compositions are derivable from the same strains as the challenge strains.

The immune response may be one or both of a TH1 immune response and a TH2 response. The immune response may be an improved or an enhanced or an altered immune response. The immune response may be one or both of a systemic and a mucosal immune response. An enhanced systemic and/or mucosal immunity is reflected in an enhanced TH1 and/or TH2 immune response. Preferably, the enhanced immune response includes an increase in the production of IgG1 and/or IgG2a and/or IgA. Preferably the mucosal immune response is a TH2 immune response. Preferably, the mucosal immune response includes an increase in the production of IgA.

Activated TH2 cells enhance antibody production and are therefore of value in responding to extracellular infections. Activated TH2 cells may secrete one or more of IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, and IL-10. A TH2 immune response may result in the production of IgG1, IgE, IgA and memory B cells for future protection.

A TH2 immune response may include one or more of an increase in one or more of the cytokines associated with a TH2 immune response (such as IL-4, IL-5, IL-6 and IL-10), or an increase in the production of IgG1, IgE, IgA and memory B cells. Preferably, the enhanced TH2 immune response will include an increase in IgG1 production.

A TH1 immune response may include one or more of an increase in CTLs, an increase in one or more of the cytokines associated with a TH1 immune response (such as IL-2, IFNγ, and TNFβ), an increase in activated macrophages, an increase in NK activity, or an increase in the production of IgG2a. Preferably, the enhanced TH1 immune response will include an increase in IgG2a production.

The immunogenic compositions of the invention will preferably induce long lasting immunity that can quickly respond upon exposure to one or more infectious antigens.

F. Kits

The invention also provides kits comprising one or more containers of compositions of the invention. Compositions can be in liquid form or can be lyophilized, as can individual antigens. Suitable containers for the compositions include, for example, bottles, vials, syringes, and test tubes. Containers can be formed from a variety of materials, including glass or plastic. A container may have a sterile access port (for example, the container may be an intravenous solution bag or a vial having a stopper pierceable by a hypodermic injection needle).

The kit can further comprise a second container comprising a pharmaceutically-acceptable buffer, such as phosphate-buffered saline, Ringer's solution, or dextrose solution. It can also contain other materials useful to the end-user, including other pharmaceutically acceptable formulating solutions such as buffers, diluents, filters, needles, and syringes or other delivery device. The kit may further include a third component comprising an adjuvant.

The kit can also comprise a package insert containing written instructions for methods of inducing immunity or for treating infections. The package insert can be an unapproved draft package insert or can be a package insert approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or other regulatory body.

The invention also provides a delivery device pre-filled with the immunogenic compositions of the invention.

Similarly, antibodies can be provided in kits, with suitable instructions and other necessary reagents. The kit can also contain, depending on if the antibodies are to be used in immunoassays, suitable labels and other packaged reagents and materials (i.e. wash buffers and the like). Standard immunoassays can be conducted using these kits.

3. EXPERIMENTAL

Below are examples of specific embodiments for carrying out the present invention. The examples are offered for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

Efforts have been made to ensure accuracy with respect to numbers used (e.g., amounts, temperatures, etc.), but some experimental error and deviation should, of course, be allowed for.

Example 1 Analysis of Immune Responses to Recombinant Proteins from Mycoplasma mycoides 1.1 Materials and Methods

Identification of M. mycoides Protein Antigens

The complete genome sequences of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides PG1 (Accession number BX293980, Westberg et al., Genome Res. (2004) 14:221-227); Gladysdale (Accession number CP002107, Wise et al., J Bacteriol. (2012) 194:4448-4449); and partial sequences of strains IS22, 138/5, 9809 (Accession numbers JQ307942 to JQ308103, Churchward et al., Vet Microbiol. (2012) 159:257-259; and 8676/93 (Accession number AJ515918.1, Botehlo et al. direct submission) were obtained from the NCBI Genome database for analysis.

A reverse-vaccinology pipeline was assembled and applied for M. mycoides antigen prediction. PSORTb 3.0 was used to identify non-cytoplasmic proteins, including extracellular, transmembrane and unknown-location ones (Yu et al., Nucleic Acids Res. (2011) 39:D241-244; Yu et al., Bioinformatics (2010) 26:1608-1615). The transmembrane and unknown-location proteins were further analyzed for their potential transmembrane topology with TMHMM 2.0 (cbs.dtu.dk/services/TMHMM; Krogh et al., J. Molec. Biol. (2001) 305:567-580) and in-house Perl scripts. The extracellular proteins predicted by PSORTb 3.0, and the extracellular proteins, 1-TM (transmembrane domain) proteins and the extracellular peptide fragments between TMs with lengths no shorter than 100 amino acids predicted by TMHMM 2.0, were further analyzed by SPAAN to estimate their adhesion probability (Krogh et al., J Mol Biol. (2001) 305:567-580). Those with an adhesin probability of more than or equal to 0.5 were selected for vaccine candidate prediction using Vaxign (He et al., J Biomed Biotechnol. (2010) 2010:297505). Those proteins with a Vaxign score of >0.4 were selected. Finally, the possible host self-antigens were removed by filtering the homologs of cattle proteins. The candidate antigenic proteins were compared among different M. mycoides strains to observe their conservation in M. mycoides.

Alternatively, after retrieving genome sequences from NCBI, potential lipoproteins were identified using LipoP 1.0 (Juncker et al., Protein Sci. (2003) 12:1652-1662 and homologies to other Mycoplasma species were investigated using BLASTP (Altschul et al., J Mol. Biol. (1990) 215:403-410. Where applicable, the homologous protein sequences were provided from Mmm strain Shawawa, a recent African outbreak strain. For expression of lipoproteins, the N-terminal signal sequences (SpII) were removed and not included in the synthetic gene sequences. Moreover, eight predicted surface proteins that have been described elsewhere were included (Hamsten et al., Mol. Cell Proteomics (2009) 8:2544-2554; Hamsten et al., Microbiology (2008) 154:539-549).

In total, 69 proteins were selected for initial use in vaccine trials. 38 of these proteins were Mmm proteins (those indicated as MSC_xxxx in Table 1) and 28 of these proteins were encoded by M. mycoides subsp. capri (Mmc, indicated as YP_0044xxxxxxxx. 1 in Table 1).

Construction of Genes Encoding M. mycoides Proteins

The 69 gene sequences identified above were analyzed in silico for codon usage bias, GC content, CpG dinucleotide content, mRNA secondary structure, cryptic splicing sites, premature PolyA sites, internal chi sites and ribosomal binding sites, negative CpG islands, RNA instability motif (ARE), repeat sequences (direct repeat, reverse repeat, and Dyad repeat). Restriction sites that might interfere with cloning were excluded. The genes were codon-optimized for Escherichia coli expression, synthesized and subcloned into the expression plasmids pSG21a or pET-15b (Novagen) containing a histidine-tag for purification of the proteins by metal-chelate affinity chromatography.

Purification of Recombinant M. mycoides Proteins

The plasmids encoding the recombinant M. mycoides proteins were used to transform E. coli BL21 STAR (Life Technologies, Invitrogen™, Burlington ON, CA). The transformed strains were grown in LB medium containing 50 μg/ml carbenicillin to mid-exponential phase and induced with 0.2 mM IPTG for 2 hours. The bacterial cells (4.5 g/wet weight) were collected by centrifugation (4,000×g, 20 minutes) and suspended in lysis buffer (50 mM Na₂HPO₄, 300 mM NaCl, and 10 mM imidazole, pH 8.0) containing 1 mg/ml lysozyme. The cells were disrupted on ice by sonication (9 cycles of 10 seconds each with 10 second cooling intervals between each sonication). The cell debris was removed by centrifugation at 4° C. and the supernatant (cleared lysate) collected. The cleared lysates were incubated with the Ni-NTA resin (Qiagen) and the histidine-tagged proteins were allowed to bind to the matrix for 1 hour at 4° C. The mix was packed in columns, the unbound fraction collected, and the columns washed four times each with 4 ml of wash buffer (50 mM Na₂HPO₄, 300 mM NaCl, and 40 mM imidazole, pH 8.0). The bound proteins were eluted in elution buffer (50 mM Na₂HPO₄, 300 mM NaCl, and 250 mM imidazole, pH 8.0), buffer exchanged into 0.1 M PBS, pH 7.2, by repetitive washes using Ultrafree centrifugal filter devices (Millipore, Bedford, Mass.) with a cutoff size of 10 kDa. Contaminating LPS was removed by affinity chromatography using Detoxi-Gel™ (Pierce Biotechnology, Fisher Sci. ON, CA) and the purified proteins were stored at 4° C. for further use.

Development of Multiplex Assays

Purified recombinant proteins were coupled to BioRad MaxPlex C™ microsphere beads (BioRad Laboratories Mississauga, ON) using the BioRad BioPlex™ amine coupling kit following manufacturer's instructions. For the coupling of cytokines MaxPlex C™ beads were primed in sulfo-NHS and EDC before coupling the antibodies against the cytokines. IL-1, IL-10 and IL-12 antibodies were purchased from AbD Serotec (Cedarlane Laboratories LTD. Burlington, ON); IL-6 and IL-17 antibodies from Kingfisher (Cedarlane Laboratories LTD. Burlington, ON), while antibodies against IFN-α, IFN-γ, and TNF-α were produced internally. Finally, antibodies against TGF-β were obtained from R&D (Cedarlane Laboratories LTD. Burlington, ON). Twenty micrograms of each antibody were coupled to the primed MaxPlex™ beads in 100 μl of 100 mM MES pH6 buffer for 2 hours at room temperature, shaking at 600 rpm. Tubes containing the beads were placed on the magnetic separator for 1 minute after which the supernatant was removed. Tubes were removed from the separator and suspended in 100 μl of PBS-BN (PBS, 1% BSA, 0.05% azide, pH 7.4) using vortex and a sonicator bath. The beads were incubated for 30 minutes at room temperature with shaking after which the tubes were placed in the magnetic separator for 1 minute. The supernatant was removed and beads were washed in 200 μl PBST three times. Beads were suspended in 75 μl of TE and stored at 4° C. until use.

Ranking of M. mycoides Antigens

The proteins were individually tested against 35 CBPP-positive and 15 CBPP-negative bovine sera by a multiplex ELISA assay as follows: Labeled beads (50 μl) suspended in PBS-T at a concentration of 10,000 beads/ml were applied to each well of a 96-well plate. Beads were washed in PBS and 50 μl of serial dilutions of test serum was applied to each well. The mix was incubated for 30 minutes at room temperature on a shaker at 750 rpm. After washing in PBS, the beads were incubated with 50 μl/well of anti-bovine IgG1, IgG2 or IgA coupled to biotin at a 1/5000 dilution and incubated for 30 minutes at room temperature on a shaker at 750 rpm. The beads were washed with PBS and 50 μl of a 1/2000 dilution of Strepavidin-Phycoerythrin (SA-PE) per well was added and incubated at room temperature for 10 minutes with shaking at 750 rpm. The beads were washed in PBS after which, 125 μl of PBS was added to each well followed by shaking for 3 minutes at 750 rpm. The fluorescence on the beads was read on a BioRad BioPlex 200™ reader (BioRad Laboratories Mississauga, ON; 100 μl volume, 50 beads per region). The titres were calculated by the intersection of least-square regression of A₄₀₅ versus the logarithm of the serum dilution. The proteins were ranked according to the IgG1 titres of the 35-positive animals, i.e. the higher the titres, the higher the rank.

Vaccine Trials

170 male naïve Boran cattle (Bos indicus) aged 2-3 years were used. Prior to use, animals were screened for anti-Mmm antibodies using CFT. No positive animals were detected. Due to the large number of animals used, the trials were divided into three. In total, seventeen groups of 5 animals per group were used. The first trial consisted of 60 cattle placed into five test groups (designated Groups A-E) and a placebo group (Group F). The second trial consisted of 60 cattle also placed into five test groups (designated Groups G-K) and a placebo group (Group L). The third trial consisted of 50 cattle placed into four test groups (Groups M-P) and a placebo group (Group Q).

The proteins were assembled into pools for vaccine formulations according to their ranking order, i.e. the first five proteins were included in group A, the second five in group B and so on. See Table 1. In Table 1,

Vaccines for the first and second trials were composed of five proteins while the vaccines for the third trial included four proteins, as shown in Table 1. The proteins were combined with CpG-ODN 2007 (5′TCGTCGTTGTCGTTTTGTCGTT3′; SEQ ID NO:29) and 30% Emulsigen™ (MVP Laboratories, Ralston, Nebr.).

Animals were inoculated subcutaneously on the right neck with 2 ml of the vaccine formulation (50 μg of each antigen was present per innoculation) and a booster given 21 days later to the left neck. Rectal temperatures and other clinical signs were recorded daily. Blood was collected weekly for storage of serum and at three time points (pre-vaccination, post-vaccination and post-challenge) for preparation of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) for use in proliferation assays. Samples collected on the day of primary vaccination represented day 0 of the trial.

ELISA and PBMC Proliferation Assays

ELISA tests were carried out on proteins coupled to magnetic beads as described above. The 66 recombinant proteins were tested for IgG1, IgG2, and IgA antibody responses on pre-vaccination (Day 0), pre-boost (Day 21) and post-boost (Day 35) serum samples as described above. Serum cytokine levels were measured on the same serum samples and on supernatants of PBMC cultures stimulated with the recall antigens by a multiplex ELISA assay. The cytokines tested were IL-1, IL-6, IL-10, L-12, IL-17, IFN-α, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and TFG-β. After incubation of the beads with undiluted serum samples, beads were washed and biotinylated cytokine detection secondary antibodies were added and tubes incubated for 30 minutes at room temperature with shaking at 750 rpm. After washes, 50 μl of a 1/2000 dilution of Strepavidin-Phycoerythrin (SA-PE) per well was added and incubated at room temperature for 10 minutes with shaking at 750 rpm. The beads were washed in PBS after which 125 μl of PBS was added to each well followed by shaking for 3 minutes at 750 rpm. The fluorescence on the beads was read on a BioRad BioPlex 200™ reader (100 μl volume, 50 beads per region). The cytokine concentrations were calculated by comparing the fluorescence value to that of beads incubated with purified cytokines used as standards.

For the proliferation assays, blood samples (20 ml from each animal) were collected in Vacutainer™ tubes containing sodium EDTA. The PBMC were separated by centrifugation (2500×g for 20 minutes) and the PBMCs (buffy coat) removed and transferred to Ficoll™ gradients (GE Healthcare, Mississauga, ON). The PBMCs were collected from the gradient, washed three times with PBSA (137 mM NaCl, 2.7 mM KCl, 7 mM Na₃PO₄ and 1.5 mM KH₂PO₄) containing EDTA and suspended in tissue culture media (MEM) to 1×10⁷ cells/ml. The proliferation of PBMCs after stimulation with Concanavalin A (ConA) (Sigma-Aldrich, Oakville, ON) and/or recombinant proteins was determined by seeding 96-well Nunclon Delta Surface plates (Fisher Thermo Sci., NY, USA) at a concentration of 3×10⁵ PBMCs/well. Cells were incubated at 37° C. in 5% CO₂ in the presence of 1 μg/ml of ConA and/or recombinant proteins for 72 h in triplicate. A solution containing 0.4 μCi/well of ³H-thymidine (GE Healthcare, Mississauga, ON) was added and the cells incubated for 18 hours. Cells were harvested (Packard, Filtermate Harvester) and the amount of incorporated ³H-thymidine was determined in a scintillation counter (Packard, Top Count NXT™) and the stimulation index determined by dividing the treated cell counts by media counts.

Statistical Analyses

The immune responses to the antigens between day 0, 21, and 35 titers for each antigen and between day 35 titres in the same group were analyzed using non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis with Dunn's multiple comparison tests. The day 35 responses between vaccinated and placebo group for each antigen were analyzed by Mann-Whitney test. For the statistical analyses Prism version 6 for Mac OS X was used. GraphPad Software, San Diego Calif. USA. Data was considered statistically different if the P value was 0.05 or less.

1.2 Humoral Immune Responses to the Recombinant Proteins

Candidate antigens were identified by reverse vaccinology as described above and are listed in Table 1. The genes coding for these putative antigens were cloned and expressed in E. coli and 66 recombinant proteins were tested against CBPP-positive and CBPP-negative sera from infected Kenyan animals. The proteins were ranked based on their respective antibody titres in sera from immune, but not naïve animals. Before using these proteins to vaccinate African cattle breeds, Canadian crossbreed cattle were vaccinated to evaluate the magnitude and quality of immune responses. Due to the large number of animals and vaccine groups, Three animal trials were conducted as described above, with each trial composed of a placebo group and either five (trials 1 and 2) or four test groups (trial 3). The vaccine groups and treatments are shown in Table 1. For each group (including the respective placebo group) pre- and post-vaccination serum IgG1 and IgG2 responses were tested to the cognate recombinant proteins.

In the first trial, recombinant proteins ranked 1^(st) to 25^(th) were tested and the results are shown in FIGS. 1A-1E. Compared to the day 0 levels, at day 35 the IgG1 titres against the proteins from each group were significantly higher in groups A to E with P values ranging from <0.05 to <0.01, FIGS. 1A-1E). The day 35 IgG1 titres in the vaccinated groups were also compared to the placebo titres and the results are also shown in FIGS. 1A-1E. For all the proteins in this trial, the IgG1 titres in the vaccinated groups were significantly different than the placebo groups with P values ranging from <0.05 to <0.01, FIGS. 1A-1E). Finally, the day 35 titres for each protein in the each of the vaccinated groups were compared to each other and with the exception of YP_004400559.1 (SEQ ID NO:12) to YP_004399807.1 (SEQ ID NO:14) and MSC_0816 (SEQ ID NO:16), there were no significant differences between the IgG1 levels (FIG. 1C, group C).

The IgG2 titres were also determined in this trial and the results are shown in FIGS. 2A-2E. Like IgG1, in all the groups there were significant differences between the day 0 and 35 IgG2 titres, between the vaccinated and placebo groups at day 35 and also the IgG2 titres to YP_004400559.1 (SEQ ID NO:12) were significantly lower than MSC_0816 (SEQ ID NO:16) and MSC_0160 (SEQ ID NO:18) (FIG. 2C, group C).

In the second trial, humoral responses to the recombinant proteins ranked 26^(st) to 50^(th) were tested and the results are shown in FIGS. 3A-3E. Compared to the day 0 levels, at day 35 the IgG1 titres against the proteins from each group were significantly higher in groups G to K with P values ranging from <0.05 to <0.01 (FIGS. 3A-3E, groups G to K). As in trial 1, the day 35 IgG1 titres in the vaccinated groups were significantly different to the placebo groups with P values ranging from <0.05 to <0.01 (FIG. 2). With the exception of MSC_0453 (FIG. 3B, group H), and YP_004400226.1 (FIG. 3E, group K), the day 35 IgG1 titres to the proteins in each group were not significantly different between each other (FIGS. 3A-3E).

The IgG2 titres were measured and the results are shown in FIG. 4A-4E. Like the IgG1 titres, all the IgG2 levels were significantly different between days 0 and 35 in all the groups with the exception of YP_004400226.1 (FIG. 4E, group K). When the day 35 titres for each protein in the same group were compared, some of these were significantly lower MSC_0782 (FIG. 4A, group G); MSC_0453 (FIG. 4B, group H); YP_004400602.1 and YP_004400291.1 (FIG. 4C, group I); YP_004400622.1 and YP_004400371.1 (FIG. 4E, group K).

In the third trial, humoral responses to the recombinant proteins ranked 51^(st) to 66^(th) were tested and the results are shown in FIGS. 5A-5D. Compared to the day 0 levels, at day 35 the IgG1 titres against the proteins from each group were significantly higher in groups M to P with P values ranging from <0.05 to <0.01 (FIGS. 5A-5D, groups M to P). Serum IgG1 titres at day 35 in the vaccinated groups were significantly different than the placebo groups with P values ranging from <0.05 to <0.01 (FIGS. 5A-5D). With the exception of YP_004400171.1 (FIG. 5C, group O), there were no significant differences between the day 35 titres in the proteins from the same group.

The IgG2 titres were measured and like the IgG1 levels, most titres were significantly different between day 0 and 35 (FIGS. 6A-6D) with the exception of YP_004400399927.1 (FIG. 6D, group P). Most proteins showed significant differences in the day 35 titres between vaccinated and placebo groups with the exception of YP_0044004399927.1.1 (FIG. 6D, group P). When the day 35 titres for each protein in the same group were compared, some of these were significantly lower YP_004400581.1 (FIG. 6A, group M); MSC_0453 (FIG. 6B, group N); YP_004400446.1 and YP_004399927.1 (FIG. 6D, group P).

1.3 Cell-Mediated Immune Responses

Cell-mediated immune responses in each group were determined by measuring proliferation of bovine PBMC collected at days 0 and 35 in response to the cognate recall antigens. At day 0, there were no significant differences between the stimulation indexes (Si) of the placebo and vaccinated groups for all the antigens in all the trials. In the first trial, there were no significant differences between the stimulation indexes of PBMC collected at day 35 and incubated with the recall antigens in groups A, B, C, D, and E (FIGS. 7A-7E).

Similar results were observed for the second and third trials. In the second trial, there were no significant differences between the stimulation indexes of PBMC collected at day 35 and incubated with the recall antigens used on groups G, H, I, J, and K (FIGS. 8A-8E). Finally, there were no significant differences between the stimulation indexes of PBMC collected at day 35 and incubated with the recall antigens used on groups M, N, O and P (FIGS. 9A-9D).

1.4 Cytokine Levels

The presence of cytokines on the supernatants of PBMC stimulated with the recall antigens was determined. Cytokines (mostly TGF-β) were detected in only a few of the supernatant tests. The assays were repeated on serum samples and out of all the cytokines tested, TGF-β was consistently detected, however pre- and post-vaccination levels did not significantly differ in animals of the first and second trial (FIGS. 10A and 10B, respectively). In the third trial, the TGF-β pre-vaccination levels were higher than the post vaccination levels with significant differences in groups M and P (FIG. 10C).

In sum, the serum IgG1 responses to all 66 proteins were significantly different at day 35 compared to day zero (FIGS. 1, 3 and 5). Similar results for most of the proteins were observed for the IgG2 titres with the exception of YP_004400226.1 that failed to elicit significant IgG2 responses (FIG. 4C, group I); YP_004400581.1, YP_0043999851.1, YP_004399914.1 (FIG. 6A, group M); YP_004399927.1 and YP_004400204.1 (FIG. 6D, group P). These results indicate that most of the proteins tested were able to elicit IgG1 and IgG2 responses and thus could be part of a panel of vaccine molecules to be tested in immunization and challenge experiments as detailed below. The proteins identified in this study included 15 lipoproteins, 15 hypothetical proteins, 6 transmembrane proteins and 4 transport proteins (Table 1). These proteins represent new vaccine targets.

The approach of first selecting antigens by reverse vaccinology, followed by ranking them in order of strong antibody responses, therefore proved to be successful in identifying several targets for a protective vaccine against CBPP.

TABLE 1 Proteins and Vaccine Groups Name (NCBI Vaccine Accession #) Description Size group^(a) MSC_0136 Hypothetical lipoprotein 66 kDa A MSC_0957 Prolipoprotein 79 kDa MSC_0499 Prolipoprotein 111 kDa  MSC_0431 Prolipoprotein 70 kDa MSC_0776 Prolipoprotein 120 kDa  MSC_0519 Prolipoprotein 99 kDa B MSC_0500 Hypothetical lipoprotein 138 kDa  MSC_0575 Hypothetical lipoprotein 69 kDa MSC_0653 Prolipoprotein 75 kDa MSC_0397 Prolipoprotein 45 kDa YP_004400559.1 Hypothetical protein 18 kDa C YP_004399807.1 Hypothetical protein 41 kDa MSC_0816 Variable surface 76 kDa lipoprotein MSC_0160 Translation elongation 75 kDa factor Tu MSC_0775 Prolipoprotein 81 kDa MSC_0013 Prolipoprotein 92 kDa D MSC_0610 DnaK 64 kDa MSC_0265 Pyruvate dehydrogenase α- 74 kDa chain MSC_0052 Hypothetical lipoprotein 111 kDa  MSC_0240 Immunodomiant protein 94 kDa P72 MSC_0014 Prolipoprotein A/P72 91 kDa E MSC_0011 Ribose-galactose ABC 91 kDa transporter YP_004400534.1 Transmembrane protein 229 kDa  MSC_0813 Variable surface protein 88 kDa MSC_0184 Oligopeptide ABC 149 kDa  transporter substrate- binding component MSC_0782 Prolipoprotein 101 kDa  G MSC_0401 Prolipoprotein 34 kDa MMS_A0381 Conserved hypothetical 100 kDa  lipoprotein MSC_1058 Variable prolipoprotein 45 kDa MSC_0790 Alkyl-phosphonate ABC 85 kDa transporter substrate- binding protein MSC_0453 FKBP-type peptidyl-prolyl 81 kDa H isomerase MMS_A0108 Putative lipoprotein 71 kDa MSC_0798 Prolipoprotein 107 kDa  MSC_0266 Pyruvate dehydrogenase β- 68 kDa chain MSC_0456 Prolipoprotein 125 kDa  YP_004400602.1 Transmembrane protein 15 kDa I YP_004400291.1 Transmembrane protein 82 kDa YP_004400300.1 Lipoprotein 98 kDa YP_004400620.1 Hypothetical protein 24 kDa MSC_1005 Variable surface 77 kDa prolipoprotein YP_004400616.1 Hypothetical protein 18 kDa J YP_004400615.1 Hypothetical protein 23 kDa MMS_A0415 Putative lipoprotein 45 kDa MSC_0927 Hypothetical lipoprotein 45 kDa MSC_0804 ABC transporter substrate- 83 kDa binding component YP_004400622.1 Hypothetical protein 24 kDa K YP_004400371.1 Permease 84 kDa YP_004400226.1 Hypothetical protein 15 kDa YP_004400021.1 PTS transporter 36 kDa MSC_0163 Leucyl aminopeptidase 82 kDa YP_004400581.1 Transmembrane protein 52 kDa M YP_004400296.1 Lipoprotein 101 kDa  YP_004399851.1 PTS transporter 19 kDa YP_004399914.1 Hypothetical protein 16 kDa YP_004400127.1 Hypothetical protein 27 kDa N YP_004399790.1 Hypothetical protein 38 kDa YP_004400580.1 Lipoprotein 49 kDa YP_004400610.1 Hypothetical protein 23 kDa YP_004400171.1 ABC transporter 41 kDa O MSC_0139 Fructose-bisphosphate 65 kDa aldolase class II YP_004399939.1 Transmembrane protein 55 kDa YP_004400004.1 Transmembrane protein 41 kDa YP_004400446.1 Hypothetical protein 20 kDa P YP_004399927.1 Hypothetical protein 41 kDa YP_004400204.1 Hypothetical protein 149 kDa  YP_004400368.1 Hypothetical protein 105 kDa  References for all proteins in Table 1 are provided in Perez-Cascal et al., Vet. Immunol. Immunopathol. (2015) 168: 103-110. ^(a)In addition to these vaccine groups, three placebo groups were included (groups F, L, and Q). Vaccines were formulated with 50 μg of each antigen per dose. In all the groups, the vaccines were adjuvanted with 30% Emulsigen and 250 μg CpG 2007 per dose.

Example 2 Protective Immune Responses to Recombinant Proteins from M. mycoides Against CBPP 2.1 Materials and Methods

M. mycoides Protein Antigens, Vaccines and Administration

M. mycoides protein antigens were identified, ranked and produced as described in Example 1. Cattle were grouped and vaccines were prepared and administered to cattle as described above. As explained, three challenge trials (comprising 60 cattle each for trials 1 and 2 and 50 for trial 3) were conducted, with each trial having vaccinated groups of 10 cattle each and a placebo group as indicated in Table 1. Each group of animals was immunized with a pool of five proteins as described above.

Mmm Strain and Growth Conditions

The Mmm Afade strain was grown in Gourlay's medium (Gourlay, R. N, Research in Veterinary Science (1964) 5:473-482) containing 20% heat-inactivated pig serum, 0.25 mg penicillin/ml, 0.025% thallous acetate. The medium was stored at 4° C. and used within 14 days.

For the culture of Mmm, 1 ml aliquot of the master seed culture was thawed for 30 minutes at room temperature and inoculated into bijou bottles containing fresh Gourlay broth pre-warmed at 37° C. Ten-fold dilutions were made into bijou bottles containing the broth and a portion of these dilutions was streaked on Gourlay agar plates. These were then incubated at 37° C. in humidified incubator containing 5% CO₂ for 48 hours. Colonies were screened for the typical fried egg appearance of Mmm. Cultures were upscaled every 24 hours, ensuring that Mycoplasma were always kept in log phase. The cultures were pooled and aliquoted in samples of 50 ml (around 10¹⁰ CFU/ml) and stored at −80° C. to provide a standardized source of inocula.

Animal Challenge

Two weeks post-boost administration, cattle were challenged by introducing the Mmm Afadé strain into the lungs, as previously described (Nkando et al., Tropical Animal Health and Production (2010) 42:1743-1747). Briefly, all cattle were sedated with 0.05 mg/kg body weight of xylazine hydrochloride (Rompun™) intramuscularly. In a standing position, a lubricated endotracheal rubber tube was introduced through the nostrils to the larynx and down to the distal trachea. Using a syringe, 100 ml of the Mmm culture containing approximately 10¹⁰ CFU/ml was deposited, followed by 15 ml of pre-warmed 1.5% low temperature melting agar (Sigma, UK), suspended in sterile distilled water. This was followed by 30 ml of PBS to flush down the suspension to the target site.

Preparation of Cell Samples for Proliferative Assay

Blood was collected by venepuncture into a syringe containing an equal volume of Alsever's solution and mixed gently. PBMC were separated from whole blood by density gradient centrifugation over Ficoll-Paque™ PLUS solution (GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences AB, Sweden). In brief, 10 ml of Ficoll-paque solution was placed in a centrifuge tube and blood was layered on top. This was centrifuged at 400×g for 30 minutes at room temperature. The layer containing PBMCs was aspirated from the interface and transferred into another sterile centrifuge tube and washed with Alsever's solution by centrifuging at 200×g for 15 minutes at room temperature. The pellet was suspended in 2 ml of pre-warmed lysis buffer (Tris-buffered ammonium chloride solution: 0.16M NH₄Cl and 0.17M Tris HCL, pH 7.2) and incubated at room temperature for 10 minutes with gentle shaking. A second wash was performed with Alsever's solution by centrifuging at 200×g for 10 minutes at room temperature. The resulting pellet was suspended in RPMI 1640 medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) (Sigma-Aldrich), 20 mM HEPES, 2-mercaptoethanol at 1×10⁵, 2 mM L-Glutamine and Gentamicin 50 μg/ml. An aliquot of the cell suspension was taken and cells counted on an automated hematology analyzer (Nihon Kohden Corporation, Japan).

Cell Stimulation Assays

The PBMC at a cell density of 3.5×10⁶ cells/ml were distributed into each well (100 ml/well) of a 96-well round-bottomed microtitre plate in triplicates. Cells were left untreated (negative control; RPMI 1640 with 10% FBS) or were stimulated with either mitogen Concanavalin A (ConA at 2 μg/ml; Sigma-Aldrich) or Mmm antigen (at a concentration of 10 μg/ml). These were incubated for 72 hours at 37° C. in a humidified 5% CO₂ incubator. Tritiated [³H] thymidine (25 μl, 0.5 μCi per well) was added and the plates were returned to the CO₂ incubator to pulse for 18 to 24 hours. Cells were harvested onto glass fiber filter mats using a semi-automated cell harvester (Perkin Elmer, Inc.). The samples were analyzed in a scintillation counter (Perkin Elmer, Inc.) and data was expressed as the mean of the triplicate cultures. Results were presented as stimulation indices (calculated as counts obtained with cells cultured in presence of antigen divided by counts obtained with cells cultured in medium alone).

Clinical Examination

Animals were observed daily and clinical findings suggestive of CBPP were recorded over the whole period of the trial (Nkando et al., Research in Veterinary Science (2012) 93:568-573). These included rectal temperatures, cough, nasal discharge, dyspnea, anorexia, weight-loss and eye discharges.

Serological Examination

Animals were bled weekly during the whole period of the trial. Blood samples were collected via jugular venepuncture into Vacutainer® tubes and allowed to clot at room temperature. Serum was thereafter separated and aliquoted into sterile vials, labeled, packed and stored at −20° C. until the end of the trial. Samples from each animal were tested serially for the presence of Mmm antibodies using CFT and indirect ELISA (iELISA). The CFT was carried out according to the method of Campbell and Turner (Campbell et al., Australian Veterinary Journal (1953) 29:154-163), with some modifications. The ELISA tests were carried out on proteins coupled to magnetic beads as described in Example 1. Briefly, purified recombinant proteins were coupled to BioRad MaxPlex-C microsphere beads using the BioRad BioPlex amine coupling kit following manufacturer's instructions. Labeled beads (50 μl) suspended in PBS-T at a concentration of 10,000 beads/ml were applied on each well of a 96-well plate. Beads were washed in PBS and 50 μl of serial dilutions of test serum were applied to each well. The mix was incubated for 30 minutes at room temperature on a shaker at 750 rpm. After washing in PBS, the beads were incubated with 50 μl/well of anti-bovine IgG1, IgG2 or IgA coupled to biotin at a 1/5000 dilution and incubated for 30 minutes at room temperature on a shaker at 750 rpm. The beads were washed with PBS and 50 μl of a 1/2000 dilution of Strepavidin-Phycoerythrin (SA-PE) per well were added and incubated at room temperature for 10 minutes with shaking at 750 rpm. The beads were washed in PBS after which, 125 μl of PBS was added to each well followed by shaking for 3 minutes at 750 rpm. The fluorescence on the beads was read on a BioRad BioPlex 200 reader (100 μl volume, 50 beads per region). The titres were calculated by the intersection of least-square regression of A₄₀₅ versus the logarithm of the serum dilution.

Postmortem Examination

At six weeks post-challenge, cattle were euthanized. Blood for serum was collected in Vacutainer® tubes. Upon opening the carcass, pleural fluid, where present, was aspirated into a 10 ml syringe and immediately stored in a cool box. The lungs were then examined for CBPP lesions. Lesions type and size (diameter in cm) were recorded. Pieces of lung from an area between the lesion and the grossly normal tissue were cut and placed in sterile polyethylene bags, transferred to a cool box and transported to the laboratory where they were processed and cultured for isolation of Mycoplasma organisms.

Lesion Scoring and Protection Rates

To determine severity of the disease in individual animals, the size of lung lesions was recorded and lung pathology scored according to the system described by Hudson and Turner (Hudson et al., Australian Veterinary Journal (1963) 39:373-385), in which the score is a combination of the type, the size of lesions, and the isolation of Mmm from tissues. Briefly, the presence of only encapsulated, resolving or fibrous lesions or pleural adhesions only, was rated one (1). The presence of other types of lesions such as consolidation, necrosis or sequestration was rated two (2). If in addition Mmm was isolated, a two (2) was added to the above rating. The resulting score was then multiplied by a factor depending on the lesion size i.e., multiplied by factor 1 if the lesion size was under 5 cm in diameter, by factor 2 if the size was over 5 cm and under 20 cm, and by factor 3 if the size was over 20 cm in diameter. Hence, the maximum pathology score was (2+2)3=12. Protection rate (defined as the percentage reduction in lung pathology brought about by vaccination) was calculated from the lesion scores of control and vaccinated animals, according to Hudson and Turner (Hudson et al., Australian Veterinary Journal (1963) 39:373-385), using the formula (NV−V)×100/NV, where NV is the score of the non-vaccinated group and V is the score of the vaccinated group.

Bacteriological Examination

Lung tissue samples were sliced into small pieces using sterile scalpels and immersed in bijou bottles containing pre-warmed Gourlay's medium containing 20% heat-inactivated pig serum, 0.25 mg penicillin/ml, 0.025% thallous acetate and phenol red indicator. Pleural fluid was inoculated directly into the broth medium. The bijou bottles were incubated at 37° C. in a humidified 5% CO₂ incubator. The following day, 1 ml of the supernatant was diluted using a 10-fold dilution series and returned in the same incubator under the same conditions for 3 days. From these dilutions, 0.2 ml was streaked onto agar plates containing Gourlay's solid medium. The remaining (0.8 ml) broth cultures and the agar plates were incubated at 37° C. in a humidified 5% CO₂ incubator. These were examined daily for ten days for evidence of growth, indicated by color change from pink to yellow, and in some cases by filamentous growth or turbidity with a whitish deposit at the bottom of the bottles. The plates were examined under inverted microscope for Mycoplasma microcolonies at day 1, 5 and 10, respectively. Growth on solid medium was characterized by the presence of microcolonies with the classical fried egg appearance.

2.2 Post-Inoculation Clinical Response (Safety) and Serological Response to Proteins

Following vaccination (and before challenge) seroconversion by CFT was not observed in any cattle in trial 1. However, seroconversion was detected seven days post-vaccination in trial 2 (15 out of 50 immunized animals) and 3 (7 out of 40 immunized animals), but none of the cattle exceeded titres of 1/10, and as expected, no serocoversion was observed in the control group. By the time of challenge however, no titres were detected in any of these cattle.

2.3 Clinical and Serological Findings Post-Challenge

Table 2 shows highest temperature recorded (clinical) and serological (CFT and iELISA) findings. In all three trials, almost every animal that contracted CBPP, as assessed post-mortem, from either the vaccinated or the control group presented clinical signs typical of the disease that included fever, cough, nasal discharge, dyspnoea and disinclination to move and adopt postures, suggestive of oxygen deficiency. Clinical signs commenced six days post-infection (dpi) for trials 1 and 2 but the first case in trial 3 was observed on day 9 post-infection (p.i.). In all trials, the signs peaked between days 16 and 21 p.i. Fever (in this study considered to be >39.5° C.) was intermittent and ranged between 39.5 and 40.5° C. in the three trials. The first febrile reaction was observed on day 20 p.i. in trial 1, on day 9 and 21 p.i in trial 2 and 3, respectively. Out of the eleven cattle in trial 1 that exhibited fever, two were from the control group whereas the rest were from the vaccinated groups.

In trial 2, fever was observed in seven animals in the vaccinated groups and none in the control group. The number of cattle showing fever was highest in trial 3 where 37 cases were observed. Out of these, four were from the control group. Some animals manifested severe clinical symptoms and had to be euthanized before the planned end of the experiment. These included five from trial 1 (two from group E and one from group A and B, and control, respectively). Three animals, all from the vaccinated groups in trial 2, were euthanized. None of the animals in trial 3 was euthanized before the planned end of trial.

In all trials, CFT titres were detected 2 weeks post challenge and ranged between 1/10 and 1/640. Trial 1 had 17/60 cattle seroconverting including 4/10 from the control group, 2/10 from group A and C, respectively, and 4/10 from group B and E, respectively. Group D had one cattle seroconverting. More than half of the cattle (35/60) in trial 2 had serum CFT titres. Out of these, three were from the control group while group G, J and K had each 8 cattle seroconverting, and group H and I had 4 cases each. In trial 3, 10/50 cattle comprising 4/10 and 1/10, in group M and N, respectively, developed CFT titres. Groups O and P each had 2/10 while the control group had only one animal seroconverting.

2.4 Cell Stimulation Indices

Mmm-specific recall proliferation was detected in cattle following vaccination at varying magnitudes. Some animals demonstrated marginal responses in the assays performed before vaccination. However, following vaccination, responses were detected in all vaccinates indicating this was as a result of vaccination. The results of lymphocyte stimulation to the immunized antigens are shown in Table 3. The stimulation indices shown are compared to a medium-only value of 1.

In trial 1, SI values for the vaccinated groups were all above the pre-immunization value except one antigen in group E (MSC_0813). The values in the control group were all within the pre-immunization values except for two proteins (MSC_0775 and MSC_0500) which showed a relatively higher value post vaccination. In general, the responses detected in group A (group average of 4.2) post-vaccination were higher than in other vaccinated groups and lowest in group E. The strongest responses post vaccination were observed in presence of proteins MSC_0957, MSC_0500 and MSC_0775 which were in groups A, B and C, respectively.

In trial 2, the reactivity detected in group H was higher than in other groups following vaccination and lowest in group K.

In trial 3, there was no reactivity detected in any of the groups following vaccination.

Following challenge, the responses detected in all groups in trial 1 were weak and almost comparable to those of day 0 (pre-vaccination). This was in contrast to the control group where the values were slightly higher than those observed pre-vaccination.

In trial 2, the reactivity detected following challenge increased in all vaccinated groups with groups J and G triggering the strongest and weakest responses, respectively. Proteins MSC_0456 and MMS_A0415 triggered the strongest responses as compared to the other proteins. There were no responses observed in the control group.

In trial 3, following challenge, the responses in the vaccinated groups increased marginally.

2.5 Necropsy and Bacteriological Findings

Table 2 shows the number of animals with lesions and those from which Mmm was isolated in each group. Post-mortem examination revealed gross pathological lesions characteristic of CBPP including: consolidation of the lung parenchyma and pleuritis, hepatization and marbling appearance, well-developed sequestra that were either unilateral or bilateral. In all trials, extension and lesion severity were variable among the cattle within the groups. Some cattle displayed large sequestra encompassing the whole lung lobe while others had multiple sequestra ranging between 2 and 46 cm in diameter. In some cases, the pleural cavity contained copious amounts of clear amber-colored fluid (up to 6 liters) with fibrinous flecks. Fibrous adhesions of the parietal and visceral pleurae were observed in those with sequestra.

In trial 1, lung lesions were observed in 28/60 cattle. Out of these, nine were from the control group whereas 19 were from the vaccinated groups. With the exception of group E, the occurrence of lung lesions in other vaccinated groups was 2-4 times less frequent as compared to the control group. The mean pathology scores in the vaccinated groups was also about 2-6 times lower than that of the control group, except for groups B and E. Apart from group C, Mmm was isolated from the lung samples of the other groups.

In trial 2, lung lesions were observed in 29/60 cattle. Out of these, four were from the control group whereas 25 were from the vaccinated groups. The occurrence of lung lesions in the vaccinated groups was comparable to the control group, although mean pathology indices were higher in the vaccinated groups as compared to the control group. Isolation of Mmm was also higher in the vaccinated groups as compared to the control group.

In trial 3, lung lesions were observed in 27/50 cattle. Out of these, 19 were vaccinates (4/10, 4/10, 5/10, and 6/10, in groups M, N, O and P, respectively) and 8 were controls. With the exception of group N, all other groups had at least one animal harboring sequestra. The occurrence of lung lesions in vaccinated groups (Group M and N) was 2 times less frequent as compared to the control group. However, the lung lesions exhibited by the 4 animals in Group N were very mild and of a resolved nature as compared to those that were exhibited by the 4 animals in group M. which were severe. Average scores for lesion size were extremely low in Group N as compared to the other groups. The average score in Group N was about 4 times lower than that of the control group. A score of 0.4 and 1.5 was recorded in Group N and the control, respectively. At the time of necropsy, Mmm was not recovered from any cattle in group N.

2.6 Protection Rates

The protection rates in the different groups of cattle, defined as the percentage reduction in lung pathology brought about by vaccination, are illustrated in Table 2. In trial 1, protection was observed in Groups A, C and D, with the rates of 79.2%, 83.0%, 84.9%, respectively. Protection was not observed in any group in trial 2, and pathology was significantly higher than in the non-immunized animals. In trial 3, however, protection of 73.3% was observed in group N, the other had a higher pathology.

TABLE 2 Pathology and protection rates for the various pools of the prototype vaccines No. with No. of No. with Mmm Protection Group cattle lung lesions isolation rate Trial 1 A 10 2 2   79.2% B 10 4 5   37.7% C 10 3 0   83.0% D 10 2 3   84.9% E 10 8 4   20.8% F, placebo 10 9 4     0% Trial 2 G 10 5 5 −47.6% H 10 6 7 −38.1% I 10 6 7 −52.4% J 10 5 4 −57.1% K 10 4 6 −61.9% L, placebo 10 5 4     0% Trial 3 M 10 4 6 −153.3%  N 10 4 0   73.3% O 10 5 4 −66.7% P 10 6 2 −73.3% Q, placebo 10 8 1     0%

TABLE 3 Stimulation index (average and standard deviation for each group of 10 animals) for each protein pre-vaccination and at two weeks post vaccination and two weeks after challenge AVERAGE STIMULATION INDICES Vaccinated groups Placebo groups Pre- Post Post Pre- Post Post vaccination vaccination challenge vaccination vaccination challenge Trial 1 Group A Group F MSC_0136 1.0 ± 0.5 3.9 ± 5.8 0.9 ± 0.2 0.8 ± 0.1 1.0 ± 0.3 1.3 ± 0.8 MSC_0957 1.4 ± 0.7 6.1 ± 4.2 0.9 ± 0.3 0.7 ± 0.2 1.3 ± 0.4 1.5 ± 0.8 MSC_0499 1.5 ± 1.1 3.6 ± 3.3 0.9 ± 0.3 0.7 ± 0.2 1.5 ± 0.4 1.6 ± 0.8 MSC_0431 1.7 ± 1.1 2.7 ± 2.0 0.9 ± 0.3 0.6 ± 0.1 1.3 ± 0.3 1.7 ± 1.1 MSC_0776 1.5 ± 1.1 4.6 ± 4.7 1.1 ± 0.4 0.6 ± 0.1 1.4 ± 0.3 2.0 ± 1.4 Group B MSC_0519 1.0 ± 0.3 1.2 ± 1.1 0.9 ± 0.3 0.7 ± 0.1 1.8 ± 0.9 1.7 ± 1.3 MSC_0500 0.9 ± 0.3 6.1 ± 5.7 1.1 ± 0.4 0.7 ± 0.2 4.1 ± 2.3 1.9 ± 1.5 MSC_0575 1.0 ± 0.3 2.3 ± 2.0 1.0 ± 0.4 0.7 ± 0.2 1.3 ± 0.3 1.4 ± 0.4 MSC_0653 1.1 ± 0.5 2.3 ± 1.8 1.2 ± 0.5 0.7 ± 0.2 1.0 ± 0.3 1.5 ± 0.6 MSC_0397 1.1 ± 0.2 1.8 ± 1.3 1.4 ± 0.8 0.7 ± 0.1 1.2 ± 0.3 1.6 ± 0.9 Group C YP_004400559 1.0 ± 0.3 2.5 ± 3.3 1.0 ± 0.3 0.8 ± 0.3 1.4 ± 0.4 2.1 ± 1.5 YP_004399807 1.1 ± 0.3 1.8 ± 1.0 1.4 ± 0.5 0.7 ± 0.2 1.4 ± 0.5 2.1 ± 1.5 MSC_0816 1.2 ± 0.3 2.7 ± 1.0 1.7 ± 1.4 0.8 ± 0.2 1.6 ± 0.6 2.1 ± 1.7 MSC_0160 1.1 ± 0.3 1.8 ± 1.0 2.0 ± 1.8 0.8 ± 0.4 1.7 ± 0.8 1.9 ± 1.7 MSC_0775 1.1 ± 0.5 6.2 ± 4.7 2.2 ± 2.1 0.7 ± 0.2 2.4 ± 1.7 1.8 ± 1.7 Group D MSC_0013 0.9 ± 0.2 1.4 ± 1.0 1.0 ± 0.4 0.7 ± 0.1 1.5 ± 0.4 2.0 ± 1.3 MSC_0610 0.9 ± 0.2 1.7 ± 1.4 1.3 ± 0.4 0.7 ± 0.1 1.4 ± 0.3 1.6 ± 0.8 MSC_0265 1.0 ± 0.3 1.6 ± 1.1 1.2 ± 0.6 0.6 ± 0.2 1.1 ± 0.5 1.8 ± 1.1 MSC_0052 1.3 ± 0.4 2.4 ± 1.5 1.6 ± 0.9 0.8 ± 0.1 1.9 ± 0.9 2.2 ± 2.0 MSC_0240 1.4 ± 0.4 3.2 ± 3.6 1.7 ± 1.0 0.9 ± 0.5 1.7 ± 0.8 2.0 ± 1.2 Group E MSC_0014 1.0 ± 0.5 1.2 ± 0.8 0.9 ± 0.4 1.0 ± 0.9 2.0 ± 0.6 2.0 ± 1.6 MSC_0011 1.0 ± 0.3 1.2 ± 1.0 0.9 ± 0.3 0.7 ± 0.2 1.7 ± 0.6 2.1 ± 1.7 YP_004400534 1.1 ± 0.4 1.9 ± 1.6 0.9 ± 0.2 0.7 ± 0.2 1.5 ± 0.5 1.9 ± 1.5 MSC_0813 1.0 ± 0.2 0.8 ± 0.2 0.8 ± 0.2 0.8 ± 0.3 1.4 ± 0.7 1.8 ± 1.5 MSC_0184 0.9 ± 0.3 1.2 ± 0.7 0.8 ± 0.2 0.7 ± 0.1 1.1 ± 0.3 1.7 ± 1.4 Trial 2 Group G Group L MSC_0782 0.7 ± 0.4 0.7 ± 0.2 0.9 ± 0.3 0.5 ± 0.4 0.9 ± 0.3 0.8 ± 0.4 MSC_0401 0.9 ± 0.2 1.4 ± 0.8 1.4 ± 0.7 0.6 ± 0.3 1.3 ± 0.5 1.2 ± 0.8 MMS_A0381 0.9 ± 0.2 1.4 ± 0.9 1.7 ± 0.9 0.7 ± 0.5 1.3 ± 0.5 1.1 ± 0.2 MSC_1058 0.9 ± 0.3 1.4 ± 0.7 1.8 ± 1.4 1.1 ± 1.4 1.5 ± 0.7 1.1 ± 0.4 MSC_0790 1.0 ± 0.4 2.9 ± 2.3 2.6 ± 1.9 1.0 ± 0.8 1.9 ± 0.7 1.4 ± 0.4 Group H MSC_0453 1.3 ± 0.5 1.7 ± 0.9 4.3 ± 4.8 1.0 ± 0.6 2.1 ± 0.6 1.2 ± 0.5 MMS_A0108 1.2 ± 0.7 1.7 ± 1.0 3.5 ± 4.3 1.2 ± 0.8 2.1 ± 0.5 1.5 ± 0.9 MSC_0798 1.2 ± 0.9 1.3 ± 0.4 1.6 ± 0.6 0.6 ± 0.3 1.4 ± 0.2 0.9 ± 0.2 MSC_0266 0.9 ± 0.2 1.2 ± 0.3 1.3 ± 0.3 0.3 ± 0.3 1.2 ± 0.4 1.0 ± 0.4 MSC_0456 1.2 ± 0.4 3.2 ± 0.7 11.6 ± 11.4 0.8 ± 0.7 1.7 ± 0.5 1.8 ± 1.9 Group I YP_004400602 1.0 ± 0.3 1.0 ± 0.3 2.0 ± 0.8 0.5 ± 0.3 1.8 ± 0.8 1.0 ± 0.2 YP_004400291 1.1 ± 0.3 1.6 ± 0.9 4.4 ± 3.2 0.9 ± 1.1 1.9 ± 0.7 1.7 ± 0.6 YP_004400300 1.0 ± 0.2 1.0 ± 0.4 3.0 ± 3.0 0.8 ± 0.7 1.5 ± 0.6 0.9 ± 0.2 YP_004400620 1.0 ± 0.2 1.3 ± 0.5  8.7 ± 17.9 0.8 ± 0.8 1.8 ± 0.7 1.5 ± 1.1 MSC_1005 1.0 ± 0.2 1.2 ± 0.4  5.7 ± 10.1 1.0 ± 0.8 2.0 ± 0.5 1.2 ± 0.4 Group J YP_004400616 1.0 ± 0.4 0.9 ± 0.2 5.6 ± 7.9 0.6 ± 0.3 1.3 ± 0.4 0.8 ± 0.2 YP_004400615 0.9 ± 0.2 0.9 ± 0.3 6.4 ± 8.3 0.6 ± 0.3 1.4 ± 0.3 1.1 ± 0.3 MMS_A0415 1.3 ± 0.5 1.2 ± 0.4 16.6 ± 15.3 0.6 ± 0.3 1.6 ± 0.5 1.1 ± 0.3 MSC_0927 1.2 ± 0.5 1.1 ± 0.5 6.3 ± 4.6 0.7 ± 0.5 1.7 ± 0.6 1.0 ± 0.3 MSC_0804 1.1 ± 0.4 1.2 ± 0.5 7.6 ± 5.0 0.8 ± 0.7 1.5 ± 0.6 1.1 ± 0.3 Group K YP_004400622 0.8 ± 0.2 0.9 ± 0.3 3.8 ± 4.1 0.9 ± 0.7 1.6 ± 0.6 1.4 ± 0.7 YP_004400371 0.9 ± 0.3 1.1 ± 0.5 3.6 ± 3.2 0.7 ± 0.5 1.8 ± 0.6 1.4 ± 0.5 YP_004400226 1.0 ± 0.3 0.8 ± 0.2 3.3 ± 3.2 1.3 ± 0.6 2.0 ± 0.5 1.3 ± 0.3 YP_004400021 0.8 ± 0.2 1.0 ± 0.4 5.3 ± 4.1 0.7 ± 0.3 1.7 ± 0.7 1.1 ± 0.4 MSC_0163 0.8 ± 0.2 1.0 ± 0.3 3.9 ± 3.0 0.5 ± 0.3 1.4 ± 0.5 1.2 ± 0.4 Trial 3 Group M Group Q YP_004400581 1.1 ± 0.6 0.8 ± 0.2 1.1 ± 0.4 1.1 ± 0.2 0.5 ± 0.3 0.6 ± 0.4 YP_004400296 1.3 ± 0.7 0.9 ± 0.2 1.0 ± 0.1 0.8 ± 0.5 0.6 ± 0.4 0.6 ± 0.3 YP_004399851 1.5 ± 1.1 1.0 ± 0.3 1.2 ± 0.3 1.3 ± 1.2 0.8 ± 1.1 0.6 ± 0.3 YP_004399914 1.2 ± 0.5 0.8 ± 0.2 1.1 ± 0.3 1.0 ± 0.8 0.6 ± 0.5 0.6 ± 0.2 Group N YP_004400127 1.5 ± 0.9 0.6 ± 0.2 1.0 ± 0.4 0.9 ± 0.6 0.9 ± 0.9 0.6 ± 0.2 YP_004399790 2.3 ± 2.8 1.2 ± 0.8 1.4 ± 0.5 1.4 ± 1.1 1.3 ± 1.2 0.7 ± 0.5 YP_004400580 1.4 ± 0.7 0.6 ± 0.2 1.2 ± 0.4 1.2 ± 0.5 1.3 ± 1.2 0.9 ± 0.5 YP_004400610 1.7 ± 1.9 0.7 ± 0.2 1.4 ± 0.6 0.8 ± 0.5 0.8 ± 0.3 0.6 ± 0.2 Group O YP_004400171 0.8 ± 0.5 0.8 ± 0.3 1.0 ± 0.3 1.0 ± 0.8 0.6 ± 0.3 0.6 ± 0.2 MSC_0139 0.9 ± 0.6 0.9 ± 0.3 0.9 ± 0.4 0.9 ± 0.5 0.7 ± 0.4 0.6 ± 0.3 YP_004399939 0.9 ± 0.4 0.8 ± 0.3 1.1 ± 0.5 1.3 ± 1.4 0.9 ± 0.5 0.8 ± 0.4 YP_004400004 1.0 ± 0.6 0.8 ± 0.3 1.2 ± 0.6 1.4 ± 1.6 0.6 ± 0.2 0.9 ± 0.6 Group P YP_004400446 0.7 ± 0.3 0.8 ± 0.3 2.3 ± 2.7 0.8 ± 0.6 1.0 ± 1.2 0.6 ± 0.3 YP_004399927 0.7 ± 0.3 1.0 ± 0.4 1.7 ± 1.9 1.4 ± 1.7 0.9 ± 0.6 0.9 ± 0.5 YP_004400204 0.6 ± 0.3 0.6 ± 0.1 1.3 ± 1.1 1.3 ± 1.1 1.2 ± 0.8 0.9 ± 0.7 YO-004400368 0.7 ± 0.4 0.7 ± 0.3 1.8 ± 2.6 1.1 ± 1.3 0.9 ± 0.5 1.0 ± 0.9

To summarize, pools of five recombinant M. mycoides proteins were administered per animal to test for their capacity to protect cattle from CBPP. Proteins had previously been ranked according to their likelihood of being protective after analyzing their surface expression and possible exposure to antibodies and their reactivity with sera from CBPP-positive cattle that are accepted to be immune (see, Example 1). Three trials were carried out, with three groups of cattle receiving a placebo while 14 groups were immunized with pools of recombinant proteins in order of their rank. The cattle were challenged by intubation with Mmm of the virulent strain Afadé.

The results showed protection against CBPP in several groups of immunized cattle. In the first trial, at least three groups (A, C and D) showed a reduction of approximately 80% in the pathology score compared to the control group with non-immunized cattle. This level of reduction is similar to what has been reported in experiments with a live vaccine and can be considered very significant. Group B also showed protection, albeit weaker than those above (just under 40%). Reduction in pathology in group E was not significant.

From the data, it is clear that proteins that were highly ranked in the priority list also contain the most antigens that had a protective effect, suggesting that the criteria used in the priority ranking were appropriate for selecting protective antigens. Although classified with lower priority, group N, immunized with four heretofore unknown proteins, also conferred a significant protection of over 70%.

Example 3 Production of M. mycoides Antigen Fusions and Conjugates with Leukotoxin Carrier Protein

The M. mycoides genes used in the fusions and LtxA conjugates were codon-optimized for E. coli expression, synthesized and cloned, as described above. For fusions, the genes were designed such that the resulting fusion protein included amino acid linkers between the two proteins. Fusions constructed included YP_004400127.1-YP_004399790.1; YP_004400610.1-YP_004400580.1; MSC_0446-MSC_0117; and MSC_0922-MSC_1058. As shown in the Figures, the YP_004400127.1-YP_004399790.1 fusion includes a Gly₆ amino acid linker between the YP_004400127.1 and YP_004399790.1 proteins (see, FIGS. 25B and 27B); the YP_004400610.1-YP_004400580.1 fusion includes a Gly₅ linker between the two proteins (see, FIGS. 26B and 28B); the MSC_0446-MSC_0117 fusion includes a Gly₃ linker between the proteins (See FIG. 37B); and the MSC_0922-MSC_1058 fusion includes a Gly₃ linker between the proteins (See FIG. 38B).

To produce conjugates with leukotoxin, sequences encoding the desired fusions or individual antigens described in Table 4 were subcloned into plasmid pAA352, to be expressed as C-terminal fusions to the LKT protein, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,476,657; 5,422,110; 5,723,129 and 5,837,268, incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Plasmid pAA352 expresses LKT 352, the sequence of which is depicted in FIG. 41. As explained above, LKT 352 is derived from the lktA gene of Pasteurella haemolytica leukotoxin and is a truncated leukotoxin molecule which lacks the cytotoxic portion of the molecule. The highly immunogenic leukotoxin carrier has been shown to be effective for inducing antibody responses against numerous proteins. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,521,746, 6,022,960, 5,969,126, 5,837,268 and 5,723,129 incorporated herein in their entireties) and (Hedlin et al., Vaccine (2010) 28:981-988).

The expression vectors were transformed into BL21(DE3) followed by growth and IPTG induction by standard protocols. The recombinant proteins were produced as inclusion bodies and resolubilized in 4M Guanidine-HCl as described previously (Hedlin et al., Vaccine (2010):28:981-988; Gupta et al., Vet. Microbiol. (2005) 108:207-214; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,100,066, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety).

The nucleotide sequences and amino acid sequences of the M. mycoides antigens, fusions and conjugates are indicated in Table 4 and shown in the figures.

TABLE 4 Antigen Fusions and Carrier Conjugates DNA sequences of antigen Protein sequences of antigen fusions and conjugates with SEQ ID fusions and conjugates with SEQ ID leukotoxin NO: leukotoxin NO: YP_004400127.1- 50 YP_004400127.1- 51 YP_004399790.1 YP_004399790.1 YP_004400610.1- 52 YP_004400580.1- 53 YP_004400580.1 YP_004400610.1 pAA352-YP_004400127.1- 54 LtxA-YP_004400127.1- 55 YP_004399790.1 YP_004399790.1 pAA352-YP_004400610.1- 56 LtxA-YP_004400610.1- 57 YP_004400580.1 YP_004400580.1 pAA352-YP_004400559.1 80 LtxA-YP_004400559.1 81 pAA352-MSC_0776 68 LtxA-MSC_0776 69 pAA352-MSC_0499 64 LtxA-MSC_0499 65 pAA352-MSC_0160 58 LtxA-MSC_0160 59 pAA352-MSC_0816 70 LtxA-MSC_0816 71 pAA352-MSC_0431 62 LtxA-MSC_0431 63 pAA352-YP_004399807.1 78 LtxA-YP_004399807.1 79 pAA352-MSC_0957 72 LtxA-MSC_0957 73 pAA352-MSC_0775 66 LtxA-MSC_0775 67 pAA352-MSC_0136 60 LtxA-MSC_0136 61 pAA352-MSC_0446- 74 LtxA-MSC_0446-MSC_0117 75 MSC_0117 pAA352-MSC_0922- 76 LtxA-MSC_0922-MSC_1058 77 MSC_1058

Example 4 Immune Responses to Recombinant M. mycoides Proteins, and LKT 352 M. mycoides Protein Conjugates

Immune responses to individual M. mycoides antigens, M. mycoides fusions conjugated to an LKT 352 (LtxA) carrier and a representative individual Mmm antigen (MSC_0160) fused to the LtxA carrier were studied. The individual antigens and conjugates used in this study are shown in the Table 5. The individual antigens were recombinantly produced as described in Example 1. As explained in Example 1, the individual antigens contained a histidine-tag for purification of the proteins by metal-chelate affinity chromatography. The fusions and conjugates with LKT 352 were produced as described in Example 3.

TABLE 5 GROUP ANTIGENS (50 μg/dose) A YP_004400127.1 YP_004399790.1 YP_004400580.1 YP_004400610.1 MSC_0160 LtxA B LtxA-YP_004400127.1-YP_004399790.1 LtxA-YP_004400610.1-YP_004400580.1 LtxA-MSC_0160

16 animals were divided into two groups (Groups A and B) of eight animals and vaccinated using vaccines including the proteins described in Table 5. The proteins were combined with 250 μg CpG-ODN 2007 (5′TCGTCGTTGTCGTTTTGTCGTT3′; SEQ ID NO:29) and 30% Emulsigen™ (MVP Laboratories, Ralston, Nebr.). Animals were inoculated subcutaneously with 2 ml of the vaccine formulation (50 μg of each antigen was present per inoculation) and a booster given 28 days later. Serum and nasal IgG1, IgG2 and IgA levels were determined against each antigen at days 0, 28 and 56. Cell-mediated immune responses were determined by PBMC proliferation assays (described above) at days 0 and 56 using the proteins as recall antigens.

Compared to day 0, serum IgG1 and IgG2 responses at day 56 were significant for all proteins. Compared to day 0, serum IgA titers significantly increased at day 56 for LtxA-YP_004400127.1-YP_004399790.1 (Group A); His-YP_004400610.1 (Group A); His-YP_004400580.1 (group A); and LtxA-MSC_0160 (Group A).

Compared to day 0, nasal IgG1 titers significantly increased at day 56 for his-YP_004400127.1 (Group A); LtxA (Group A); LtxA-YP_004400127-1-YP_004399790.1 (Group B); his-YP_004400580.1 (Group A); his-YP_004400610.1 (Group A); LtxA-YP_004400610.1-YP_004400580.1 (Groups A and B); his-MSC_0160 (Groups A and B); and LtxA-MSC_0160 (Group B).

Compared to day 0, nasal IgG2 titers significantly increased at day 56 for his-YP_004400127.1 (Groups A and B); LtxA-YP_004400127.1-YP_004399790.1 (Groups A and B); LtxA (Groups A and B); his-YP_004400610.1 (Group A); LtxA-YP_004400610.1-YP_004400580.1 (Groups A and B); and LtxA-MSC_0160 (Groups A and B).

Compared to day 0, nasal IgA responses at day 56 were significant for all proteins. The median of the proliferative responses were slightly higher at day 56 but the differences were not statistically significant.

Overall, the antibody titers of animals vaccinated with the individual proteins and animals that received the chimeric proteins were similar.

A more balanced immune response (serum IgG1/IgG2 ratios near 1) was observed for the proteins that contained the LtxA carrier.

Thus, immunogenic compositions and methods of making and using the same for treating and preventing Mycoplasma infection using pools of Mycoplasma recombinant antigens are described. Although preferred embodiments of the subject invention have been described in some detail, it is understood that obvious variations can be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. An immunogenic protein selected from: (a) a fusion protein comprising two or more Mycoplasma mycoides proteins selected from M. mycoides subsp. mycoides (Mmm) and M. mycoides subsp. capri (Mmc) proteins; (b) an Mmm or Mmc protein or fusion protein conjugated with an immunogenic carrier; (c) variants of the proteins of (a) and (b); or (d) a protein corresponding to (a) or (b) from another Mycoplasma strain, species or subspecies.
 2. The immunogenic protein of claim 1, wherein the Mmm or Mmc protein or fusion protein comprises an Mmm and/or Mmc protein listed in Table 1 or Table 4, variants thereof, or the corresponding proteins from another Mycoplasma strain, species or subspecies.
 3. The immunogenic protein of claim 1, wherein the Mmm or Mmc protein or fusion protein comprises (a) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NOS:2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 or 28; (b) an Mmm protein present in the fusion of SEQ ID NO:75; (c) an Mmm protein present in the fusion of SEQ ID NO:77; (d) variants of (a), (b) and (c); or (e) the corresponding protein from another Mycoplasma strain, species or subspecies.
 4. The immunogenic protein of claim 1, wherein the fusion protein is selected from: (a) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:51; (b) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:53; (c) a protein comprising amino acids 927-1421 of SEQ ID NO:75; (d) a protein comprising amino acids 927-1468 of SEQ ID NO:77; (e) variants of (a), (b), (c) and (d); or (f) a fusion protein comprising proteins corresponding to (a), (b), (c) and (d) from another Mycoplasma strain, species or subspecies.
 5. The immunogenic protein of claim 1, wherein the Mmm or Mmc protein conjugated with a carrier comprises the amino acid sequence of an Mmm or Mmc protein listed in Table
 4. 6. The immunogenic protein of claim 1, wherein the carrier is an RTX toxin.
 7. The immunogenic protein of claim 6, wherein the carrier is a detoxified leukotoxin molecule.
 8. The immunogenic protein of claim 7, wherein the amino acid sequence of the protein conjugate comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NOS:55, 57, 59, 61, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79 or 81, or a variant thereof.
 9. A composition comprising at least one immunogenic protein according to claim 1, and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.
 10. A composition comprising at least two immunogenic Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides (Mmm) and/or Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies capri (Mmc) proteins selected from the Mmm and Mmc proteins listed in Tables 1 and 4, immunogenic fragments or variants thereof, or the corresponding Mycoplasma proteins from another Mycoplasma strain, species or subspecies, and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.
 11. The composition of claim 10, wherein the Mycoplasma proteins are selected from two or more proteins comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOS:2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28; a protein comprising amino acids 927-1421 of SEQ ID NO:75; a protein comprising amino acids 927-1468 of SEQ ID NO:77; or variants thereof.
 12. The composition of claim 10, comprising three to five Mycoplasma proteins.
 13. The composition of claim 10, comprising four or five Mycoplasma proteins.
 14. The composition of claim 10, wherein at least one of the proteins is selected from SEQ ID NOS:2, 4, 6, 8 or
 10. 15. The composition of claim 10, wherein at least one of the proteins is selected from SEQ ID NOS:12, 14, 16, 18 or
 20. 16. The composition of claim 10, wherein at least one of the proteins is selected from SEQ ID NOS:22, 24, 26 or
 28. 17. The composition of claim 10, wherein the two or more proteins are provided as a fusion protein.
 18. The composition of claim 10, wherein one or more of the proteins comprises an amino acid sequence with at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID NOS: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 or
 28. 19. The composition of claim 10, further comprising an immunological adjuvant.
 20. The composition of claim 19, wherein the immunological adjuvant comprises (a) a polyphosphazine; (b) a CpG oligonucleotide or a poly (I:C); and (c) a host defense peptide.
 21. A DNA molecule modified for expression in E. coli selected from: SEQ ID NOS:1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25 or 27; or a DNA sequence that comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding an Mmm protein, wherein the DNA sequence is present in SEQ ID NOS: 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78,
 80. 22. A recombinant vector comprising: (a) one or more DNA molecules according to claim 21; and (b) control elements that are operably linked to said molecule whereby a coding sequence in said molecule can be transcribed and translated in a host cell.
 23. A host cell transformed with the recombinant vector of claim
 22. 24. A method of producing a Mycoplasma protein comprising: (a) providing a population of host cells according to claim 23; and (b) culturing said population of cells under conditions whereby the protein encoded by the DNA molecule present in said recombinant vector is expressed.
 25. A method of treating or preventing a Mycoplasma infection in a vertebrate subject comprising administering a therapeutic amount of the composition of claim 9, to the subject.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the subject is a bovine subject.
 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the Mycoplasma infection is contagious bovine pleuropneumonia. 28-30. (canceled) 